


The Next Right Thing

by AislingRoisin (JayBird345)



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Bisexual Character, Brainwashing, Butterfly Effect, Canon-Typical Violence, Cause Usagi is not as willing to blindly listen to a talking not-cat, Discussion of PTSD, Endgame Mamoru/Usagi, Endgame Tsukino Usagi/ Chiba Mamoru, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Free Will, Luna critical, M/M, Magical Enslavement, Misunderstandings, Mix of Manga & Anime, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rei critical, Reincarnation, Season/Series 01, Slow Burn, Usako and Mamo are not ready for destined love, going into au territory, look their personalities don't mesh well, mention of Madoka Magica, questioning on how magic and past lives affects your current relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:08:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 71,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayBird345/pseuds/AislingRoisin
Summary: Usagi was aiming to live her best second life. Then a cat happened.
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Others, Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi, Past Hino Rei/Jadeite, Past Senshi/Shitennou, Shitennou/Others, Tsukino Ikuko/Tsukino Kenji, Tsukino Usagi/ Others
Comments: 374
Kudos: 545
Collections: Favorite Self-Insert and OC-Centric Fanfics, Reincarnation and Transmigration, Self-Inserts and Original Characters, oc self insertSI





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HybrisAnaideia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HybrisAnaideia/gifts).



> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

#  Prologue 

* * *

It seemed that just moments ago, Tsukino Usagi had been a happy, carefree 4-year-old playing happily on the carpet, as her mom cooked in the kitchen. The room had started to burn hotter, as her body had begun to lag. Rubbing her eyes in exhaustion, Usagi had looked over to call her mom, when a flash of light had passed before her eyes. 

Her head pounded with pain as screams rang in her ears, faint sobbing for her not to go echoing in her mind. Grasping her head, Usagi was unaware of her own little cries of pain before passing out with a high fever. Her mother’s cries for her father to help were drowned out by the different voices and languages sobbing her name. The wave of memories and experiences had overloaded her so badly she had fallen sick. 

Usagi’s poor parents worried for her, as her fever had spiked dangerously and refused to go down no matter what they tried. The stress hadn’t been good for her pregnant mother, who was due that month, causing her father to call his late friend’s wife for help in caring for Usagi while her mom went for her weekly check-up. 

Muffled noises could be heard from down the hall as Usagi tried to stifle her tears as memory after memory flashed before her eyes, blinding and raw in their intensity

“-eally appreciate your help Mayumi-san,” Her father whispered as he carefully opened the door and let a red-haired woman in Usagi’s room, “With Ikuko so close to her due date, and my hours at work-”

“I am happy to help Kenji-san. After all, my late husband was practically your brother in all but blood.” 

Usagi squinted through watery eyes as she saw her father share a look of sadness with the woman. 

“Besides you and Ikuko-chan helped me so much after his death and Naru’s birth. The least I can do is help watch over Usagi-chan for a few hours every week.” 

Closing her eyes as tears of pain streaked down her face, Usagi was plagued with memories of another woman who had tried to hide her sadness through a smile. She had been important to her, someone who she didn’t want to leave behind. Groaning in pain, she buried her face into her pillow as gentle hands checked her temperature again. 

“Her fever has spiked again.” Her father whispered worriedly as he placed a cool towel on her forehead. A gentle kiss was placed on her clenched hand as he whispered with Mayumi-san. Usagi wished she could try and tell her father not to worry, that she’d be fine, yet memory after memory overwhelmed her again, paralyzing her body in pain.

“Usa-chan? Papa has to go but don’t worry, my good friend Osaka Mayumi-san will take care of you while Mama and I are gone.” 

Darkness slowly swallowed her as her father left the room. Osaka-san hummed gently as she wiped away her sweat and tears with a cool cloth, lulling Usagi into an exhausted sleep. 

* * *

Curious blue eyes and wavy red hair popped into her line of sight the next time Usagi carefully opened her eyes. A young girl, roughly close to her age, smiled cheerfully as she played with a doll by her bed.

“Hi, I’m Na-chan, what’s your name?” 

A part of Usagi wondered if she had foreign blood in her, as her hair didn’t look dyed. As far as she was aware, Japanese people didn’t naturally have blue eyes. Giving her a weak grin, Usagi managed to rasp out her name before wincing at the dryness in her throat. 

“You sound bad. Want some water? Mommy is making some yummy soup in the kitchen.”

Nodding carefully, Usagi was impressed as Na-chan, carefully brought her a glass of water from her night table, and didn’t let go till she was sure Usagi had a good grip on it. Gulping the water in relief, Usagi prayed that the memory overload was done. She didn’t know how much more of this she could handle. Counting quietly, Usagi realized she had spent a good week bedridden, as she remembered 25 years of another woman’s life. All those people she had been forced to remember and loved were gone, and now she was stuck in this child’s body with not even a similar culture or language to find solace in. 

‘How long am supposed to grieve for the loss of my old life? Should I forget them and pretend they didn’t exist? Or is it something that I should hold onto, regardless if it makes my life a little less happy than it was before?’

“Your hair is very pretty, like the gold in my mommy’s shop. Can I touch it?” The sound of the little girl’s voice pulled Usagi from spiralling into darker thoughts, as Na-chan looked hopefully with big puppy eyes. 

Charmed by the straightforward nature of this child, Usagi nodded as Na-chan gently ran her fingers through her hair. She had never noticed how long her hair was, reaching the midway of her back and curling softly at the ends. 

“It’s so soft!” Na-chan exclaimed, prompting Usagi to take a few strands and play with them as well.

_ She’s right. My hair does feel like silk. _ Memories of her old self fighting with untameable messy hair crossed her mind, as Na-chan rubbed her cheek against her hair.

A soft chuckle from the door snapped Usagi out of her daze, as Osaka-san came in with a tray of food. Now that she could see properly, she noticed that Na-chan looked a lot like her mother, sharing the same hair and eye colour.

“Now, now Na-chan. Let’s stop and have some lunch first, and after that, you can play with Usa-chan if she’s feeling better.” Osaka-san took Usagi’s temperature as she reintroduced herself as a friend of her father, stating that Naru was her daughter and would be staying with her till the end of the day.

“Your fever is finally down! Your parents are going to be so happy when they return.” Osaka-san smiled as she carefully helped Usagi eat her soup, her body feeling weak with exhaustion.

“Mommy, doesn’t her hair look like gold?” Naru-chan exclaimed as she finished her soup. 

“Yes, she has the same hair colour as Ikuko-chan when she was younger.” 

Usagi blinked puzzledly, as her mother had dark black hair that shone blue in the light, not blonde hair. Osaka-san must have realized her confusion as she giggled and leaned closer as if sharing a secret. 

“Your mom’s natural hair colour is just like yours; she dyed it black after she married your father and moved into this neighbourhood.” Osaka-san sighed forlornly as she waxed poetically on how beautiful her mother’s hair was as a teenager. Her golden curls had given her a ladylike charm, causing her to win the title of school-idol for all 3 years in high school.

“You went to the same school as Mama?” Usagi asked, curious to know more about her parents. Now that she thought about it, they looked ridiculously young! Just how old are they?

“Oh yes! We became close friends after the first day of class when we both realized we had a ‘foreign’ parent. Though your mom had an American mother while I had an Irish father.” Pulling Naru-chan into her lap, Osaka-san explained that they got their blue eyes and red hair from her papa. 

“You know, it was because of Ikuko-chan that I met my late husband. He was Kenji-san’s best friend.” Usagi leaned back into her pillows as Osaka-san smiled softly at her and Na-chan. “I hope you two end up being just as close friends as your fathers were.”

* * *

Her parents didn’t come home till late in the evening, long after Naru-chan had passed out beside Usagi from exhaustion. She had told her so many stories, and sang as many songs as she knew, while Usagi had her hair brushed and took her medicine. Osaka-san had taught them both how to make some simple bead bracelets, making sure that neither of them tried to eat the beads. Naru-chan had managed to make 2 while Usagi had finished 5 in one sitting. Both girls had traded a bracelet as a sign of friendship, making Osaka-chan laugh and coo over how adorable they both were. 

Osaka-san and her Mama had crept into the room to carefully carry Naru-chan away and say her goodbyes. While Papa had walked Osaka-san and Naru-chan to the door, Mama had stayed behind, stroking her forehead.

“How’s my Usa-chan feeling? Your fever’s gone down at least.”

Usagi was mesmerized by how young her mother looked. Even though she had slight bags under her eyes, and her face was pinched with worry, it couldn’t hide the youthful glow in her mother’s face. In fact, if she was guessing right, she’d say her mother is slightly younger than Usagi was when she died in her past life. 

“Mama, how old are you?” 

_ Oops! I didn’t mean to ask that! _ Clasping her hands against her mouth, Usagi stared at her bewildered mom, a stunned silence between them. 

“My, does Mama look old to you Usa-chan?” she teased, seeming to get her bearings back as Usagi shook her head violently.

“Mama’s not old! Mama’s beautiful! Usa-chan wants to know more about Mama.” 

Her mother’s laughter echoed, seeming to warm the room with her smile. Her father must have heard her laughing since he came in and pulled his wife under his chin, with an arm loosely around her waist. 

“What’s so funny darling?” He asked, kissing the top of her mother’s hair as he reached out to feel Usagi’s temperature at the same time. 

“Our little Usa-chan is feeling better and seems to be very curious about how old I am. I think Mayumi-chan has been gossiping about me today.” Her mother beamed, cuddling into her husband as both gently stroked her pregnant stomach. 

“Well Usa-chan, Mama is a beautiful young princess who I was lucky enough to convince to choose this old man over all the others who wanted her as their wife.” He looked so serious that Usagi wondered if he honestly thought she would believe all that. 

“Darling, don’t tell Usa-chan that! You’re hardly an old man, you’re just 3 years older than me.” Usagi giggled as her mother gently slapped her father’s chest while they both cooed at each other. 

“Usa-chan, Mama is 24 and Papa is 27. You have two young and hip parents, so don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise!” 

Usagi nodded as her parents both tried to look super serious as they told her how young they were. They both seemed to really love each other and clearly loved their daughter with all of their might. 

Her mind made up, Usagi decided that she would be the very best daughter and older sister she could be. She had put her parents through hell this week, and with her mother in such a delicate condition, that stress could have caused complications in her pregnancy. 

“Mama, Papa, I’m sorry I made you sad ‘cause I’m sick. Don’t worry, I’m gonna be all better really soon!” Usagi smiled as her parents each gave her a kiss on her forehead. 

“You just focus on getting better Usa-chan. Mama and Papa are both strong, we can handle it.” Her father boasted, while her mother hid her giggles into his chest.

“We have good news for you Usa-chan. If you’re feeling better by next week, you’ll be able to come with me and Papa to the hospital to meet your new sibling.” Usagi wondered if she would get a brother or a sister. Snuggling to her sheets, she watched her parents tuck her in before gently closing the door.

_ ‘So...now what?’ _ It was very daunting to realize you would have to relive your entire life all over again. She didn’t even know what year it is, or if she was reborn in the same world as her old one. 

Rubbing her temples in frustration, Usagi decided this was all something she would worry about in the future. 

* * *

A week flew by, and Usagi found herself sitting in the hospital as her father paced in front of the room her mother was giving birth in. That morning had been very hectic as everyone rushed to get to the hospital on time. Her mom had managed to help Usagi with her hair, as a way to distract herself from the pain she was currently feeling, but her poor hair had been pulled and tightened harder than usual. In the end, though, two adorable pigtails had been styled by the end of the car ride. Tugging on the curls at the end of her pigtails, Usagi sighed as she wondered how much longer it would be. She had been feeling a little fatigued all day but didn’t want to worry her parents by saying anything.

Reaching into her pocket, she looked at the two bead bracelets she had left. Two had been given to her parents, which they both were faithfully wearing today, and one was switched with Naru as a sign of friendship. 

_ ‘One can be for my new baby sibling, but who should I give the last one too?’ _ Usagi wondered if the nice nurse would like a bracelet. Or maybe the doctor who’s with her mother right now?

She and her father had also gotten some roses to give to her mother and new baby sibling, but they had started to wilt a little with the heat of her hands. 

_ ‘At this rate, they’ll die before mom and the baby even see them, _ ’ she thought mulishly, ‘ _ Maybe some water will help. _

Gently tugging on her father’s pants, she let him know she was going to the bathroom to give them a bit of water. The poor man was frazzled as he sat back down and wished her well on her journey, getting a giggle out of Usagi; the bathroom was only down the corridor. 

So far this world seemed pretty normal. The technology was a bit old but nothing too unfamiliar to her eyes. She didn’t know too much about Japan in her past life, so she couldn’t tell if there were more cities than before, but the USA and Europe  _ did exist,  _ so maybe she was still in her old world?

_ ‘The only thing weird is the moon.’ _ Her chest throbbed slightly at the thought t, and Usagi rubbed the aching spot as she continued to wonder about why the moon looked so odd, _ ‘Those craters look different to the ones I remember from back home...Maybe it's the angle from the earth? _ ’ She puzzledly absentmindedly. 

Making her way to the end of the corridor, Usagi felt herself slow to a stop in front of the bathroom. Leaning against the wall by the door, she felt something pulse strongly inside her. Breathing heavily, Usagi took deep calming breaths as she closed her eyes against the rising sensations. 

_ ‘What’s happening now?!’ _ She thought, as she helplessly leaned slightly to the right, but two strong hands picked her up before anything happened, while her father panicked over her weak form. 

Calling over a nurse, Usagi faintly heard her say there was a spare room in the children’s ward for her to lie in while her mother finished giving birth and that a doctor could look her over while her father stayed with his wife. As they made their way to the children’s ward, Usagi focused on the strange sensation pulsing inside her. It felt like another heartbeat, almost like it was calling out to someone inside this building. 

It seemed to grow louder and louder until it finally reaching a crescendo as they entered the room. A boy with dark hair was staring vacantly by the window as a nurse scolded him for getting out of bed. His head turned, and blue eyes met blue eyes as she was placed onto the bed. 

The pulsing slowed to a stop as something in Usagi seemed to calm at the sight of him. The nurse and doctor checked her over as her father fretted, but all Usagi could do was stare at that boy. Closing her eyes in exhaustion, she felt a strange feeling welling up inside her; almost like a tiny voice was saying,  _ ‘Oh! There you are! I’ve been waiting for you.’  _


	2. Chapter 1 : Destined Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short, but the next two ones will make up for it I promise! Merry Christmas Eve and Christmas Everyone ｡◕ ‿ ◕｡
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic!

# Destined Meetings 

* * *

Deep sapphire blue eyes stared at the small girl lying on the bed at the end of the room. The nurses had left to make their rounds, and the doctor had managed to convince the girl’s father to go back to his wife and that she would be looked after. The man had given her one last worried look before being escorted out. 

Sliding out of his cot, Mamoru wondered what this strange feeling in his chest was. Something about her seemed to be calling him, and before he knew it, he was standing by her side. Her golden hair seemed to sparkle in the dying sun, giving her an almost magical look. Creeping closer, Mamoru risked a chance to peek at her face. 

_‘She looks like a little doll.’_ he thought, cooing silently at how cute she looked. He wondered if his parents had survived, would he have had any siblings? It got terribly lonely at the hospital. ost of the time he was all alone, with no one besides the doctors and nurses to visit him. 

Reaching out, he gently played with the ends of her hair as it seemed to glimmer and glow in the light. 

“So pretty.” He whispered, the hair between his fingers feeling soft and precious.

“Thank you.”

Startling back, Mamoru fell onto the floor as sky blue eyes peered at him over the bed in concern. Blood rushed to his cheeks as he realized she had caught him playing with her hair.

“You okay?” She slowly reached out, extending her hand to pull him up. Mamoru flinched back as he dodged her touch, feeling a pang of regret at the disappointed look on her face as he rejected her advances. 

“Yeah. O-of course I’m fine!” He stuttered, quickly standing up and avoiding her innocent gaze. Shifting uncomfortably from side to side, he felt his palms grow damp. He didn’t know what to say to kids younger than him. Maybe he should just leave?

“Hi, my name is Usa-chan! Wanna be my friend?” Pulling a bracelet from her pocket, Mamoru watched in bewilderment as she reached out and placed it in his hands. 

“Friends?” Mamoru felt his eyes widen as she beamed up at him, unconsciously holding onto her gift. The beads felt warm to the touch, and the colours were pretty black and red. 

“Yeah, you seem nice, so let’s be friends.” 

Tears pinched the corner of his eyes as he bit his lower lip. Mamoru couldn’t remember someone calling him a friend, let alone giving him a gift.

Warm fingers gently ruffled his hair in an affectionate pat, as the little girl smiled warmly at him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” 

Mamoru felt hot tears streak down his cheeks as he choked back the sounds that wanted to escape his lips. Curling around the bracelet, he wondered why he was even crying and if she’d laugh at him. So many different emotions were coursing through him that he didn’t know if he was happy or sad, angry or relieved. Mamoru just drowned in the sensations as he sobbed into his fists.

Small arms reached out and gently pulled him into the bed with him, letting him hide his face in the pillow next to Usa-chan.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.” She murmured near his ear. Peace and calm slowly seeped into his body, as he found himself falling into a deep sleep. For the first time since he could remember, Mamoru slept serenely, with the feeling that he was somewhere warm and loved.

* * *

Wandering back to her mother’s room, Usagi wondered how the nurses would react to finding her missing. Normally, she would have waited to have a doctor or nurse bring her back, but frankly, she just didn’t feel up to dealing with adults right now. 

Something strange was happening. That was twice now that her body had failed her so suddenly. The first time was her...the revelation of who she is, or was it ‘was’? 

Placing her hand against her forehead, Usagi wondered if she would ever be able to put to words what she experienced. Shaking the uncomfortable feelings away, Usagi thought back to the sleeping boy back in the room. She had lost energy in her body just before meeting him and had slowly regained it in his presence.

_‘Something about him draws me to him, and yet…_ ’ Glancing back down the corridor, Usagi wondered if she had made the right decision to leave him sleeping in her bed. Raking her fingers through her hair, she sighed loudly as she continued her journey. Every step felt uncertain and hesitant as she got further and further away from him. 

“Tsukino-chan! What are you doing wandering all by yourself?!” 

Pouting as she was scolded for being so inconsiderate to worry the nurses on duty, the doctor took her to another room for a final round of tests before taking her to her parents and new baby brother. 

Hours later, once the family was back home and Usagi tucked into her bed, she wondered what would happen if she tried and pull on that spot inside of her that had caused so much trouble.

_‘It can’t hurt to try,’_ she thought, clearing her mind as she reached deep within herself. An uncontrollable burst of energy poured out, as her body shook from pain. Her forehead burned while her body spasmed uncontrollably, feeling as if her head would split from the pressure. Regretting every life choice that had led her to this moment, Usagi silently sobbed as she tried to regain control of her body.

Rays of moonlight fell onto her bed as the wind pushed her curtains away from her window and the light seemed to slowly sap the pain away as Usagi gasped and cried into her pillow, fingers clutching the sheets as the tremors slowed.

_‘Oh my dear, you’re not ready for this yet.’_

A comforting voice echoed in her room, as Usagi curled into a fetal position. Gasps escaped her lips as she weakly thanked the voice for taking the pain with it, too exhausted to care about who, what, or where that voice was coming from. 

The burning sensation on her forehead dulled to a faint throb, and the whole space seemed to shine from the light of the moon. Whatever was inside her finally fell dormant again, causing Usagi to swear to never try and touch that spot ever again.

_‘Never, ever, ever! That was too scary! I don’t like this at all, I want to go back to my old life!’_

Pulling her head up from her pillows, Usagi looked at the mirror across from her bed, hoping against hope that she would see her old self reflected in its image. Instead, a scared young child with blonde, almost silver, hair stared back with wide dark blue eyes and a bright gold crescent moon on her forehead. 


	3. Chapter 2: And So It Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Everyone!
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

#  Chapter 2: And So It Begins

* * *

“Usagi! Hurry up or you’ll be late for school!” 

Her mother’s yells echoed loudly in her room as Usagi finished putting on her middle school uniform, trying to figure out what to do with her hair. Looking around her room, Usagi hoped to be hit with some form of inspiration. Unwilling to give up some of her past life’s hobbies, the room was now filled with arts and crafts hanging from the ceiling and decorating the floor. 

Sketches and paintings of a woman with long silver hair pulled up into two pigtails with buns covered a corner by her bed; while the hairstyle was simple and familiar, Usagi had been trying to branch out and try new things. Pulling out her sketchbook, she flipped through its pages as women of various ages and ethnicities looked back in different poses. Stopping at an old self-portrait of her past self, Usagi caressed her shorter brown locks that were elegantly styled in a high ponytail; a knot of hair had hidden the scrunchy holding it all together. 

_ ‘Why not? I am feeling a bit nostalgic today anyway. _ ’ Twisting her golden hair into position, Usagi wondered if she should go back to the salon and donate her hair. She had just gotten a cute mid-back haircut, yet not even a full 7 days later and it was already covering her butt. It just wasn’t natural for a 14-year-old girl’s hair to grow this fast! 

_ ‘At least it’s not so pale blonde it’s nearly silver anymore. _ ’ she thought, making sure to tighten her hair so it appeared a bit shorter. 

Sighing loudly, Usagi rubbed her forehead as she realized that it was still too long and she would have to lie to her friends by claiming she got extensions. Feeling the tension rising inside of her, she grabbed a small bottle of concealer and placed it in her school bag. Ever since that night, when that voice had calmed the raging energy within her, the gold crescent moon would reveal itself every time she got stressed or overwhelmed with emotion. 

_ ‘Thank goodness for the power of concealer, or her I’d be in real trouble.’ _

So far she had managed to hide it from her parents, with the only person in the know being Naru-chan. That sweet, happy-go-lucky child had grown to become her closest friend. 

Shoving her finished homework into her bag, Usagi quickly made her way downstairs, gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before grabbing a piece of buttered toast.

“Thanks, Mama! Have a great day at the bake sale!” She waved absently as she headed out the door. If she ran for 10 minutes straight, she would be able to make it with lots of time to spare.

“Usagi-chan! Wait up!” A gasping voice called out as Usagi made it to the last intersection before her school.

“Oh, hey Naru-chan!” 

The redhead leaned on her knees as Usagi rubbed her back soothingly. Poor thing had clearly pushed herself to the limit trying to catch up to her. 

“You didn’t have to run so hard you know?” Usagi smiled, trying to hold back her laughter at the cute look of indigent anger on her friend’s face.

“Of course I did! If I didn’t catch you now, I’d have to wait till after school to speak with you properly!”

Concern and dread filled her as she noticed how hard Naru was trying not to cry. Gently pulling her in between two stores, Usagi gave her a comforting hug as her friend broke down crying in her arms.

“What’s wrong, Na-chan? What happened?”

Her friend hiccuped little gasps, as she valiantly tried to rein back her tears to speak.

“S-something is wrong with O-okaa-san! S-she has been acting s-so oddly lately, but yesterday she completely forgot about m-me and locked me out of the house for over 6 hours-s!” 

Na-chan was Osaka-san’s pride and joy. Ever since her husband passed away, Osaka-san had made sure to never let her daughter feel like she was missing something. Usagi had long admired at how Osaka-san had single-handedly succeeded in being both mother and father to her daughter. 

_ ‘She would never just forget about Naru and lock her out of the house like that. _ ’ Narrowing her eyes, Usagi soothed her friend as she tried to figure out what had caused such a dramatic change in such a doting woman.

“Let’s look around after school and see what we can find. Maybe something has happened to her store? Are you guys ok financially?” Finances had been a little tight in her own household lately, but as far as Usagi had been aware of, the Osaka’s had been fine.

“I-I don’t know!” Naru sobbed, fresh tears streaking down her face as she buried it in Usagi’s shoulder.

Murmuring gently in her friend’s ear, Usagi felt a twitch in that place deep inside. It seemed something was making that energy wake up from its long dormancy. Pushing her concerns aside, she continued to comfort her friend as she finally started to settle down.

Helping Naru clean up and hide the puffiness of her eyes, Usagi heard a faint yowling come from further down the alley.

“Is, is that a cat?” Naru wondered as both she and Usagi peered further into the alley. Sharing a look, they both broke into a run and found a group of kids kicking and hurting a black cat. 

“Hey! What are you brats doing?!” Usagi roared, incensed that a small animal was being tortured for their enjoyment. Honestly, there were reasons she’d never had a kid in her previous life. 

_ ‘ I can’t remember exactly what the reasons were, but I’m sure part of it had to do with spoiled brats like these.’  _ She mentally sneered, glaring as they laughed and screamed, running away from them as if it was all a big game. 

“Usagi-chan, I think this cat needs a vet.” Naru gave worried looks to the poor kitty cat panting heavily on the ground. It looked all scratched up, with many of its cuts bleeding. Carefully wrapping some of the worst cuts in their handkerchiefs, they made their way to a nearby veterinary office. 

“We are so gonna be late at this rate.” Usagi halfheartedly complained, trying to distract herself from how light the cat felt in her arms.

“At least it will be for a good cause.” Naru soothed, as they handed over the cat to one of the attendants. After a quick discussion, they decided on Usagi being the contact for the cat since they still didn’t know what was wrong with Naru’s mom. 

“Looks like those band-aids are peeling off, should we take them off?” Naru wondered as she asked the veterinarian more questions about the cat; like whether she’d be sent to a shelter to be adopted once she was better?

That spot inside Usagi twitched again, as a pulse of energy rippled through her body. Feeling as if she was in a trance, she carefully pulled them off, revealing a gold crescent moon. 

_ ‘Okay, now this is creepy.’  _ The shape and colour were identical to the one that popped up on  _ her  _ forehead when she was overwhelmed. Stepping back slowly, Usagi vaguely noticed the sound get muffled around her, as her heartbeat grew louder. 

“Usa-chan? Are you okay?” Naru’s hand on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts with a jolt. The veterinarian carefully took the now awake cat, into the back room for further examination. Usagi felt like that animal was staring into her soul, as it refused to look away from her face even as the doors shut between them.

“Yeah...yeah, I’m fine.” Dazed blue eyes stared at concerned blue ones. Naru glanced between the door and Usagi’s face, before moving to block it from her sight. She wondered if Naru had noticed that the cat had the same mark as her. 

“Come on, let’s go to school before it gets too late.” Her friend’s gentle hands pulled her away from that place as they jogged towards school. Even though she was physically next to Naru, Usagi couldn’t help but feel it was like meeting that boy all over again. something massive and important had just been set in motion, like a boulder that had been placed on a hill was now starting its descent to the bottom; all while  _ she _ was at the bottom. 

_ The question is, will I be able to get out of the way? Or will I get crushed underneath? _

* * *

By the end of the school day, Usagi had managed to push away her concerns regarding the cat and focus on Osaka-san’s abrupt change in behaviour. Naru and her both made plans to pass by the store and see if they could spot if something was affecting her financially. The only hassle was escaping from Umino-san before he could start showing off how great he had done in the latest test. 

“Geeze, Umino-san sure is persistent in his crush on you Usa-chan. Boasting about his 95% mark, like that would impress you.” Naru seemed to be distracted from her worry over her mother as she focused on Usagi’s romantic woes. She patted her consolingly as Usagi made a face at the thought of getting together with Umino-san. 

_ ‘Me dating a 14-year-old? Especially one who acts his age and younger?  _ **_Hell_ ** _ no.’ _

They were all so  _ young  _ in her eyes; it just felt wrong to try and date someone her physical age. 

“It’s not like I need a tutor or anything. I bring home solid 80’s and a few 90s, so seeing someone else get a little higher than me isn’t gonna make me swoon.” Usagi sighed, wondering if she would have to make it perfectly clear to the guy that she wasn’t interested in a harsh way. Everyone could see he liked her, but so long as he didn’t confess, technically she wasn’t supposed to say anything about it. 

“Let’s change the topic, I don’t want to talk about him anymore.” She’d figure out what to do regarding Umino-san later. 

“Well, Sailor V was spotted in Japan recently.” Naru offered, holding back her laughter at Usagi’s exasperated expression. 

“That heroine that appeared in England two years ago?” Usagi had been weirded out when she found that there was a superhero dressed in a Japanese schoolgirl uniform going around and fighting criminals in this world. 

_ I still can’t believe that there are magical girls here, _ she thought with old confusion, _ ‘ Why are there no adults trying to stop her from getting involved? She clearly looks to be at most 18 years old; too young to be fighting criminals in the streets.’ _

“Yes! She has been spotted in Osaka! I wonder if she’ll come to Tokyo too?” Naru shared excitedly. Sailor V was known for defeating these strange monsters that had started to appear in London, which couldn’t be defeated by bullets or any other weapon available to the police or army. Did her arrival in Japan mean monsters would start appearing here as well? A loud racket distracted them from their gossiping, as a giant mob of women shouted and screamed as they tried to get in a store up ahead.

“Hey Naru, isn’t that your mom’s store?” Usagi knew that Osaka-san was a very good salesperson, and did put on some of the better sales in the area, but 70-80% off on all merchandise?

“Okaa-san would never do such a big sale on the whole store,” murmured Naru, her hands reaching out to grab Usagi’s as she sought comfort, “We got a new shipment of expensive-looking jewels recently, which replaced all of our previous display pieces. Now she’s selling them for barely anything?! Usa-chan I am so worried, this isn’t normal!”

Usagi felt the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end at the sight of Osaka-san calling in more people to try and buy her jewelry. Something didn’t feel right at all, almost like the store itself was trying to pull her inside of it. Usagi didn’t think it would let her go if she was stupid enough to go inside. 

“Naru, why don’t you come home with me tonight? Let’s see if my parents can talk to her first.” Usagi didn’t want her staying anywhere near Osaka-san right now. Something was telling her it was too dangerous to leave Naru on her own.

  
“ ‘Kay, let me get a bag ready, and then we can go.” Giving her friend one last hug, Usagi watched worriedly as Naru ran upstairs. Stepping absently backwards to avoid another wave of women trying to shove in the store, Usagi accidentally bumped into a guy behind her. 

“Hey! Watch it!” He cried as his coffee spilt all over his jacket and shirt. He was a tall guy, a few years older than her, and glaring over his dark shades as he wiped as much as he could off his clothes.

“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” She winced at the stain on his green jacket. That would be a pain to remove later. 

“Here, let me help you.” Reaching out with a few napkins she had in her bag, she tried to soak out the coffee stain. Unfortunately, she wasn’t expecting him to lean over to see the damage done to his clothes, causing her to accidentally bump heads with him in the process. 

“Ouch, I think you’ve helped enough thanks. I can do the rest on my own before you hurt me even more.”

“Hey! I said I was sorry, you don’t have to be rude about it.” She hated it when people snarked at her like this. She didn’t mean to hurt him or anything, and she  _ had  _ tried to help fix his clothes. 

“Sorry is easy to say, but it doesn’t take away the fact that my clothes might get ruined and your help has just hurt me even more.” He sassed, rubbing his forehead where they had accidentally hit each other. He seemed to be wearing an old looking bead bracelet, that peeked from under his jacket.

_ ‘Why does that pattern look familiar?’ _ she mused, before shaking away the thought. She had 110 different things she had to do tonight and the sooner she got rid of this guy the sooner she could focus on Naru and her mom.

“I was going to give this to you anyway because I felt bad for bumping into you and spilling coffee all over your clothes. Maybe next time you can be a little less rude about it. If I was really such a truly horrible person, I wouldn’t have bothered helping you clean up the stain.” Usagi said in a huff, shoving a 500 yen coin in his hand, before marching off in irritation She’d wait for Naru by the arcade, away from the crush of people and coffee-carrying men. 

That yen would be enough to cover some detergent and a few washes at a laundromat, so Usagi refused to feel any more guilt over it. 

_ Honestly! What a jerk. _

* * *

“Now don’t you worry Naru-chan. Kenji will go speak to your mother, and hopefully, all this will be dealt with soon. Usagi, please set up a place for her to sleep in your room okay? Naru you can help me finish making dinner. Busy hands will keep you from worrying too much.” 

Naru nodded as she gave Usagi her bag filled with clothes for tonight and tomorrow. Tsukino Ikuko was a great mother; she just made Naru relax in her presence with just a few words and an embrace. Usagi hoped to one day have the same ability to make a room warmer with just her presence.

Finding the spare futon, she began to set up space by her bed when a thump at her window startled her into dropping the sheets. Standing on her bed was the same cat from this morning; the gold crescent moon, unnervingly piercing eyes and all. 

“Peculiar. How on earth did you find me?” She wondered aloud, though a small part of her was more worried about how an injured cat escaped from the veterinary office.

“Well it wasn’t easy, let me tell you. That veterinarian was far too forward..” 

Eyes widening in fear, Usagi fell backwards as she stared at the cat TALKING BACK in perfect Japanese.

“Oh my god, it talks!” She squeaked in horror, barely able to get the words out of her mouth as she scrambled backwards, hitting her night table in the process.

“How rude! I’m not an "it", my name is Luna. I’ve been looking for you, Tsukino Usagi-san.” The cat huffed, sitting primly at the edge of her bed and looking down at Usagi as she groomed her head a bit. 

Usagi could barely focus on what the cat was saying when her mind was spinning in circles at the fact the cat talks and has been stalking her in order to corner her in her room. 

_ ‘Don’t scream, don’t scream. You’ve watched enough horror movies to know it never ends well when someone screams.’ _ She thought faintly, trying to get her wits about her. 

“Also, I wanted to thank you for saving me from those kids.” Luna smiled bashfully as she leaned forward, “When my crescent moon is covered like that I can’t talk, and my senses get thrown off.”

Usagi took deep breaths, trying to remain calm and not have herself get too overwhelmed by the cat’s existence. The last thing she wanted was her own crescent moon appearing because she had a panic attack.

Blindly grabbing the books on her shelf, she started to fling the books as the not-cat, uncaring at it yowling for her to stop. She managed to deck it with a few dictionaries before it upped its game and managed to get close enough to scratch her hands. 

“Stop throwing things at me and listen!” Luna yelled, sparking Usagi to yell back.

“No! You just leave me alone!” Grabbing a blanket, Usagi threw it on Luna and wrapped her up in a bundle. Making her way to the window, she made to throw her out, blanket and all. A bright light burst from the bundle, forcing Usagi to drop the blankets and let Luna escape. 

The not-cat raced back to the bed, making sure to keep far away from Usagi’s reach. 

“For the last time, stop trying to harm me and listen! There are very bad forces acting this very instant, and if you don’t hear what I have to say your friends and family will suffer the consequences!”

“Are you threatening my family and friends?!” Usagi shrieked, muffling it at the last second.

Luna gave her an exasperated look before clearing her voice as she sat back down regally, beginning to speak in a more formal tone. “Tsukino Usagi, you have been chosen to be a guardian of Earth, defending against the forces of evil.” Luna flipped in the air and landed with a beautiful brooch now on her bed, “Take this brooch and transform into a Sailor Scout!”

An awkward pause filled the air as Usagi stared at the cat disbelievingly while Luna looked on expectantly. 

“You’re kidding, right? I’m a 14-year-old girl and you want me to be some sort of protector for the  _ entire plane _ t? No way, not happening.” Crossing her arms into an X in front of Luna, Usagi gave her a distrustful look as she began to pick up her books.

Luna twitched at the action, but refused to leave it alone and continued to plead with her to change her mind.

“Usagi-san! You have to become a Sailor Scout! You’re the only one who can defeat the monsters that are starting to appear in Tokyo!” Luna said as she jumped on the bookshelf, making a nuisance of herself as Usagi tried to shove her off. 

“And how do I know that you are one of the good guys? That you aren’t part of the group of monsters that have been attacking England, and now  _ supposedly  _ Tokyo?” She retorted, unwilling to be suckered so easily, “Honestly! Why don’t you pick an adult or someone who has the connections to actually be able to help? Why pick a middle school student who’s just trying to live her life?” 

“Because there is a power inside of you that others don’t have. Surely you must have noticed it at one point, right?” 

Luna’s words gave Usagi pause, as she thought about that energy that laid dormant inside of her. The one which, when she had tried to use it, harmed her to the point of tears. 

Luna smiled cunningly as she pushed the brooch closer to Usagi. 

“Use this brooch and see that I speak the truth. Only you can activate it, no one else has the ability to transform with it.” Luna persisted as she placed a paw on Usagi’s knee, looking beseechingly into her eyes. 

“...Am I agreeing to a contract if I use this thing?” Usagi sighed, feeling like an idiot for hoping against hope that Luna  _ wasn’t  _ like that Kyubey creature from the only magical girl show she had watched during her university years. That thing hadn’t been able to die. Instead, it had respawned and ate its own carcass. It truly an eldritch monster to fear, beyond the whole “trick you into selling your soul with horrifying consequences” bit. 

“No contract, no magical consequences. All I am is a Mauian, asking for help in finishing her Queen’s dying wish of protecting this world from total annihilation.” Luna seemed to age in that moment, appearing like an old cat, done with the world and its troubles.

“What’s a Mauian? And why would your Queen care what happens to this world?” Usagi couldn’t figure it out, why would some space-cat queen want to save the Earth?

“I am from the planet Mau, and my queen was Queen Serenity, Ruler of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millenium. She gave her life saving the Earth and all of its inhabitants.” 

Okay, so maybe the Queen wasn’t a cat, but that just brought up even more questions. Why would aliens care about what happens on a planet that’s not their own?  _ Humans  _ barely care about what happens to Earth.

“That’s cool and all, but why?” 

Luna sighed as she explained that a lot of her memories were sealed, but from what she could remember there was a daughter of the Queen, who had the same name apparently. She had fallen in love with Earth and  _ also  _ perished trying to protect it.

“For the love of her daughter, and because my Queen was a good woman who had a heart able to love more than just her subjects, she died using a weapon that pushed the enemy back for centuries.” A pang of grief covered the cat’s face as she quietly finished, “Till now.”

Usagi knew that face. Of course, she had never seen a cat make it before, but that didn’t take away the fact that Usagi recognized that emotion. The feeling of profound grief at the fact that everything and everyone that you had known and cared for was gone. Dead and never coming back no matter how hard you prayed or begged the world. 

“...So, how do I activate this thing?” Usagi gave up; if she was to suffer, then suffer she would. Picking up the brooch, she saw that there were four gems on the rim while on the inside was a pink diamond and a golden crescent moon. 

“Hold it in the palm of your hand and cry ‘Moon Prism Power Makeup!” Luna commanded all signs of grief pushed away as she focused on the task at hand.

“....You’re kidding, right? That sounds so lame. Who the hell screams out their transformation?!” Usagi wondered, not for the first time, exactly what kind of world had she been reborn into. 

_ ‘Apparently, a world where 14-year-olds are drafted to save the world, and aliens care more about the state of the world than humans.’  _ Rubbing her temples, she decided what the hell? Might as well play along. Though she drew the line on wearing a sailor uniform; no matter what this strange magic did, she refused to fight in a tiny miniskirt!

“Moon Prism Power Makeup!”


	4. Chapter 3: Moonlight Densetsu Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok here is where Canon goes flying out the window. The biggest shout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being A HUGE HELP with the fighting scene! 
> 
> Also, Usagi's outfit looks like this: https://www.deviantart.com/axsens/art/Moonlight-Knight-Girl-652505862 I did my best to describe it.
> 
> Also neither myself nor Hybris are japanese and google is my friend for USD to Yen conversions.  
> 15, 000 Yen = $137 and 500, 000 Yen = $4,570 based on today’s conversion rate

# Chapter 3: Moonlight Densetsu Time 

* * *

Tsukino Kenji was grateful for a lot of things in his life. He was grateful that he got a steady job right after university, and that he had managed to advance within the company these last few years. He was also thankful that his wife had chosen him to date and marry. She had blessed him with two beautiful, healthy children, even if Usagi could get a little fragile at times. He was further delighted that he had kept his and Ikuko-chan’s friendship with the Osakas, even after the death of his best friend. 

So, when his wife called him about Mayumi-chan’s strange behaviour and how Naru-chan would be staying over for the night, he was concerned. Incredibly so.

“Maybe if you talk to her, she’ll listen to you Kenji-kun. She has so much respect for you; you were essentially her husband’s brother. I’ll stay here and distract Naru-chan from overthinking the situation too much.” 

_Ikuko is such a wonderful mother_ , he sighed lovingly at the thought of having such a wonderful woman to go back home too.

Clearing his throat, he tried to get more serious as he grew closer to OSA-P. The crowd of women in the store was much smaller than it had been earlier that day. 

_‘These prices are too ridiculous, what in the world is Mayumi-chan thinking?’_ Baffled at the strange behaviour of his friend, he made his way into the store and spotted her selling some incredibly expensive-looking diamonds for an absurdly cheap price. Not willing to make a scene, he began to browse the remaining goods in the display; it looked like Mayumi-san had gotten new wares recently. Hopefully he would be able to privately speak with Mayumi-chan as soon as possible. The last thing he wanted was to have this drag out for too long. Naru-chan shouldn’t be worrying at home about her mother, she was only a middle schooler. .

“Good evening sir! Are you interested in looking at some rings for a special lady in your life? Or perhaps a pretty necklace to show you care? Bracelets are on a special sale right now if you are interested in buying a set.” Mayumi-chan chirped, staring at him as if she had no idea who he was. 

“...May I see the bracelets? My wife loves them.” She _should_ know that Ikuko-chan disliked bracelets, as she found they got in the way of her housework.

“Excellent choice sir! Your wife will absolutely love these, the regular price is about 500,000 yen, but for you, I’d be willing to sell them for 15,000 yen.” Not a single change in her expression,and he felt quietly alarmed. Something was wrong here, very wrong. Was this really Mayum-san?

“Thank you. It’s always nice to give someone you love a gift. Do you have someone you love in your life?” Kenji had asked her this question before, and each time Mayumi-chan had laughed him off, claiming her daughter was all she needed in this world now that her husband was gone.

“Well, I do love succeeding at my job, and if you buy this bracelet I will be even more happy!” His skin crawled at her happy expression.This woman _was not_ Mayumi-chan. She looked like her, and had the same voice as her, but everything that made Osaka Mayumi, _Osaka Mayumi_? It was gone.

“Maybe another time. I’ll just keep browsing till I find that special one.” The woman glared hatefully at him for one alarming moment, before cheerfully claiming she’ll be nearby if he needs any help and walking off in a huff. 

Not even ten minutes later and the people left in the store started to collapse where they stood, moaning , gasping out they felt weak.

“Hey! Someone call the ambulance, these people are barely conscious!” Kenji cried as he quickly checked the nearest woman over. There was no obvious wounds, but the pallor of her skin was far too pale to be healthy. Hoping against hope that the woman at least cared enough about her customers to not leave them on the ground, he pulled out his cell and began to dial for ambulances when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. 

“Now why would I do that when they are finally where they belong? At my mercy, under my feet.” The voice grew distorted as he slowly turned around, and he found that where the imposter had once stood, a horrible corpse-like monster grinned in her place. 

Extending its claw-like hand, Kenji found himself being choked from a strong grip.

“Wretched little worm, I will enjoy killing you slowly for your transgressions.”

_‘Ikuko-chan, my love, I don’t know if I’m making it home tonight.’_ Kenji thought as he grasped and clawed at the leathery hand around his neck.

* * *

Jumping from building to building with startling superhuman strength, Usagi prayed that she would make it in time. She had managed to outrun Luna, leaving the alien behind as she reached OSA-P, which looked so worn down and creepy with the lights turned off. Malicious cackling echoed around the store, as a wretched-looking corpse strangled her father.

Rage flooded her veins as she silently made her way closer to the monster. Its hubris made it weak, leaving many openings she would be exploiting. 

Usagi wasn’t much of a fighter, and she couldn’t run very fast or very far either. However, what she was good at was dodging. And if she was really motivated, she could throw pretty well too. Instinct guided her raging thoughts, and she somehow knew exactly what she needed to do. Two crescent moon blades formed above her palms, Usagi had never felt more motivated in her life. Throwing them both at the same time, one severed the hand holding her father while the other took off the monster’s head so cleanly it looked like a magic trick. One moment the monster was attempting to kill her father, and the next it was headless.

The creepy thing’s body turned around as the head cursed and screamed for Usagi’s death, but her eyes were on her father. Her attack hadn’t stopped the hand, and her father was starting to turn blue as the hand continued to squeeze his throat. But she was unable to do anything before she had to dodge the wild attacks from the one-armed, headless body. 

It was lucky that Luna suddenly made an appearance near the door, yowling instructions on how to defeat the monster.

“Now, Moonlight Knight! Use your tiara and say “Moon Tiara Action”! It won’t die till it gets purified!”

Not questioning the cat this time, she placed her hand on her tiara and whispered the phrase, all while still thinking it’s pretty stupid to scream your attacks. 

The golden jewellery became an orb of light as it struck the monster’s head, causing it to shriek in agony before it disintegrated into dust.

“Congratulations Moonlight Knight, you did it! Now we just have to leave her and- Where are you going?!” 

Ignoring Luna, Usagi ran towards her father and used her his cell phone to call ambulances for all the people in the store. He was breathing heavily, yet he could barely open his eyes, too weak and drained to move much at all.

“Looks like the enemy drained the energy of these people. While we wait for help, I’m going to check the perimeter.”

Absently thanking Luna for her help, she gently reached out and held her father’s hands in her own, trying so hard to not break down in tears. Holding his hand, Usagi desperately willed some of the energy inside her to go to her father, not caring if she paralyzed herself with pain.

This time the energy was merciful. It slowly flowed out, controlled and gentle, and brought back colour to her father’s face as his body began to relax..

_‘Thank goodness, he’s gonna be okay!’_ She sighed, completely relieved that she’d still have a father after tonight. 

Slightly wobbling, Usagi carefully stood up and quickly began checking to make sure everyone else was still alive. Luckily no one else seemed to need her energy. As she grew closer to the residential side of the building, faint whimpers and sobs seemed to seep from the door that connected to the basement. 

Using one of her crescents to force open the door, Usagi carefully went down the stairs as she prepared herself to strike at any other monster who might be hiding down here. But tied up and gagged in the corner was a pale looking, barely conscious Osaka-san. 

Rushing forward to cut the poor woman out of the ropes, Usagi carefully carried her back upstairs and laid her near the others. Her face was gaunt, and her lips were so dry she must have been trapped down there for at least two days. Ugly purple bruises covered her exposed skin, and it looked like at least one arm was broken. Holding her gaunt hands in her own, Usagi tried to pull that energy again. 

_‘What’s going on? Why isn’t it flowing?’_ Unlike before, the energy now refused to flow out no matter how hard she strained and Luna still wasn’t back. Usagi completely on her own to try and help Osaka-san.

Hot tears rushed down her cheeks as she stared helplessly at the woman who had been such a large part of her life.

_‘What do I do? The ambulance still isn’t here and Osaka-san is…’_ Sobs spilled from her lips as she bowed over the unconscious woman. A red rose suddenly appeared, thrust into the ground next to Osaka-san. 

_‘What the-?!’_ Leaning back in surprise, Usagi stared in shock as the rose glowed gold and released a spray of energy like pollen. It flowed over Osaka-san, returning her health in mere seconds. A rustle by the window made her glance up, and she caught a glimpse of a black-caped figure gliding away. 

‘ _Were they the one who had helped Osaka-san? Why didn’t they stay?’_ The distant sounds of sirens startled her out of her reverie, as she hurriedly brushed her tears away and stood up. Luna scampered through the main entrance, commanding her to get out before the police arrived.

Scooping up Luna like a football, Usagi ignored her offended yowling at being carried like a sack of potatoes and jumped her way to the roof of the building. 

“Thank goodness they arrived. Come on Luna, let’s hope Naru managed to distract Mom long enough that she didn’t notice I was missing.” 

Now that the paramedics were here, Usagi could finally relax. Loosening her tense shoulders, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, thankful that at least for tonight, this nightmare was over. Usagi also swore to thank Naru for helping her escape without anyone else noticing. If it hadn’t been for her, she would probably be in so much trouble with her family right now.

_‘She really is a great friend.’_ Usagi smiled as she recalled how Naru had even gotten involved…

* * *

Bright lights filled the room as the transformation covered her piece by piece. Usagi instinctively used that energy normally, dormant inside of her, to force the brooch to **_not_ **give her a miniskirt the moment she realized it wanted to dress her in a sailor uniform. A wave of hearts and crescent moons washed over her body leaving her in - praise be! - an infinitely more reasonable outfit. 

“What the-?!” 

Standing in front of her mirror, a woman looking at least in her mid-twenties stared back, covered from head to toe. It was a bit disarming to suddenly appear the age she should have been if she hadn’t died. Looking closely, she noticed she had a bit of makeup on around her eyes, while the heels and clothes made her look older than she was. Turning from angle to angle, Usagi was impressed at the high quality of the uniform. 

Dark purple knee-high boots, trimmed with gold-framed her legs, the rest covered by skin tight white pants. A long-sleeved lavender turtleneck accented with gold trimmings hugged her curves, a thick gold belt accented her waist and had the ends of her turtleneck frame her thighs, while a diamond-shaped hole over her cleavage peeked from under the brooch, now a clasp for her cape. The cape alone was beautiful, easy to detach if tugged - she did check, and the brooch remained in place even with the cape detached - a lovely dark purple thing with white stars doting the outside, and a royal blue with constellations decorating the inside. The sleeves of her turtleneck had a V-shape, with gold rings on her middle fingers to keep it tight against her skin. The finishing touch was a lavender face mask, hiding the lower half of her face, while her hair was back in its traditional pigtail buns, with the ends tied so two loops framed her face. A gold circlet rested on her forehead, hiding the crescent moon that Usagi had felt appear during the transformation.

It felt sturdy and strong, something that would protect her from attacks. Checking her golden belt, Usagi found two crescent moon shaped daggers, attached to the sides, while a smaller knife rested on the swell of her back. A little checking revealed that her boots each carried a hidden blade inside. 

_‘I feel like an assassin from that video game…’_ She smiled absently, pulling and tugging on her clothes.

“I know that uniform! You must have been one of the Moonlight Knights of the Royal Court in the past.” Luna’s initially puzzled face grew more and more confident as she circled Usagi. 

“There was never a Sailor Scout of the Moon, but the Moonlight Knights were the guardians of the Queen as she did not have any Scouts to attend her. They laid down their lives and kept her safe, till the Queen sacrificed herself for the sake of Earth and her daughter.” Luna beamed as she looked her over one last time, satisfied with what she saw. 

“To have a Knight as a guard for the Princess...the evil forces that destroyed the Silver Millennium won’t be able to touch her.” Luna chuckled in happiness at the thought, though Usagi privately was...Not on board with that, like, at all. The idea that she’d have to guard some random girl for the rest of her life, if she was understanding Luna correctly, sounded fairly awful. Like “your life is not your own and you need to give up your dreams to do your Duty,” awful.

“Now, we’ll have to make sure that no one in your family finds out about this. Especially your friend Naru, as a civilian she will be nothing but a burden and easy target that-” The door slammed open as an incensed Naru stomped over, before proceeding to wack Luna with a pillow in karmic retribution.

“I am _not_ an easy target! I’m Usagi’s best friend, and you can just stuff it ‘cause I won’t abandon her just because you say so!” She cried, getting more and more hysterical as tears fell from her eyes.

“I have known Usa-chan my whole life, and I won’t have you saying I’ll just be in the way or that it’s for my own good! Don’t you dare try and take my sister away from me, you alien cat!” Naru let go of the pillow after giving Luna the last smack, bursting into uncontrollable sobs. 

Usagi gently pulled her down into a hug on the floor, rocking Naru back and forth. Whispering promises of being together no matter what, Usagi stared intently at a sheepish Luna over Naru’s shoulder. If that cat wanted her as even a _part-time temp worker_ she would have to accept that Usagi wasn’t cutting her best friend from her life. Period.

Luna sighed in resignation before giving a sharp nod.

“Na-chan, I’m going to need your help okay? I’m sneaking out to go save your mom from whatever trouble she’s in, but I can’t have Shingo or Mama find out I’ve left. Can you distract them till I return?”

Naru wiped her tears with her sleeve as she smiled up at Usagi.

“Of course! You just leave it to me!”

Giving her friend one last hug, Usagi made her way out the window and onto the rooftops of the houses.

* * *

Sliding into her window, Usagi dropped Luna on the bed while ignoring her complaints at the rough treatment. Huffing in an exasperated way, Luna made her way back to the window and turned to address her. 

“You did a great job today, Usagi-san. I’ll be contacting you either tomorrow or the day after to see if we can plan for the next attack.” Luna beamed proudly up at her.

Usagi frowned at the cat, “Is this going to become a weekly thing? ‘Cause you know my parents _will_ notice eventually that I am disappearing.” Usagi sighed, already feeling done with this superhero business. She hadn’t even touched that this would seriously affect her grades, her social life, her arts and crafts time, and so much more! This is why adults should be superheroes, not teens! She still had a life to live, an education to finish!

Luna sidestepped her _very important_ question with a cheerful goodnight, slinking out the window and into the night. Shaking her head at the shady behaviour - all while thinking about how the cat was all but outright demanding _her_ trust - Usagi powered down, thankful that Luna had left before she transformed back. Glancing in the mirror, Usagi pushed her bangs aside to reveal the golden crescent moon. Silver strands mixed with gold as Usagi brushed her hair into a high bun ponytail.

Last time this had happened, her calming herself down had erased the crescent moon and the silver had slowly faded away by morning. 

_‘I don’t have that kind of time tonight, also it looks like my hair grew back to its ridiculously long length after transforming.’_ She huffed, wondering if there was any point in cutting her hair. Its growth was so unnatural even before this sudden acceleration, it might be easier, in the long run, to just accept the impractical length. 

Using some concealer, she hid the crescent moon from her forehead, but the hair was still a problem. Deciding that since this was obviously the fault of something magical, she sat on her bed and she tried to clear her mind. She pictured her golden hair, how it looked in the sun and how the colour changed slightly when wet or dry. Usagi was very intent on visualizing how there was absolutely no silver in her hair, and how it didn’t look close to silver at any point.

Opening her eyes after feeling…something, she beamed at the sight of her pure gold hair, even if it was still absurdly long. Throwing on some casual clothes, Usagi quickly made her way down the stairs where she found Shingo and her mom playing a board game with Naru.

“Usagi-chan, are you done all of your homework?” Her mom inquired, as she smiled gently at her.

“Yes! Sorry, it took so long, I was having a hard time with some math but I think I got it.” Usagi gave Naru a thankful look as she winked at her. 

“It’s about time you got here Usagi! I was waiting for my real competition to show up,” Shingo complained, looking so adorable in his frustration that all of the girls giggled at his pout.

“Well I hope you enjoyed winning while it lasted Shingo, 'cause I will show you no mercy.” She teased right back 

* * *

  
Not even 15 minutes into the game, the phone rang to notify their mother that their dad and Osaka-san where in the hospital. The doctor calmed down her panicking mom, as they explained that a monster attack had happened at the store, yet they had been saved by a good Samaritan, who had called in time to get them the care they needed. 

“They’ll be able to go home tomorrow. We just want to keep them overnight for observation.”

“Thank you, doctor, I’ll be visiting shortly to see my husband and Osaka-san.” Putting down the phone, Usagi watched as her mother pulled herself together before turning to face them. Since it was a school night they were told that Usagi, Naru, and Shingo would be staying home while Ikuko made her way to the hospital.

Naru and she gossiped as they got ready for bed, with Usagi telling her everything that had happened during the fight. The mysterious rose thrower who had helped save Osaka-san got special attention paid to them, both puzzled by the person no matter how grateful.

“It is a little weird that they didn’t stay behind, but maybe they don’t want any attention?” Naru theorized uncertainly. 

“Maybe.” 

Staring at the hand-made paper stars and hearts that decorated her room, Usagi wondered if her life would become one big cliche; monsters, teen superheroes, and caped strangers, oh my! 

“Usa-chan?” Naru whispered, peeking up at her from her futon.

“Hmm?” 

“Thank you for saving Okaa-san.” Naru reached out and clasped Usagi’s hand, smiling as she gripped back.

“I love her too you know; she’s practically family.” Osaka Mayumi had taken care of Usagi a lot as a child and had continued to do so even after Shingo had been born. She meant too much to her for her to just leave her trapped in that basement. 

“Promise you won’t leave me behind?” Naru murmured, gripping tightly Usagi’s fingers. 

‘ _Looks like Luna’s words are haunting Na-chan.’_ Usagi thought grudgingly. 

Rearranging their hands so their pinkies locked, Usagi leaned over from the bed and smiled down at her oldest friend.

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns! ☺


	5. Chapter 4: Realizations and Denials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would just like to say that Mamoru x Usagi is the endgame of this fic (...series). The thing is, this Usagi is more aware of how "we were madly in love in a past life" is not enough to make a solid relationship work. Especially if all your interactions so far have been teasing and name-calling. So just to repeat; end pairing is mamoru x usagi, it'll just take a while to get there. 
> 
> Also a big shout out to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

#  Realizations and Denials 

* * *

“Usa-chan! Want to go visit Motoki-san today?” Naru was so much happier now that her Okaa-san was back. The Tsukinos had taken her in while Tsukino-san and Okaa-san recovered in the hospital, allowing her to spend more time with Usa-chan and Shin-chan. 

Naru was still amazed that her best friend was the Moonlight Knight, and she got such a cool name too! 

Even if her friend had been beyond upset to have her hair regrown to a “ridiculous princess length” style due to that transformation. Naru had spent the morning helping her style her hair into this cool design she had found in Okaa-san’s books. It was originally supposed to be for male warriors, but considering her best friend was a Knight, Naru felt that exceptions could be made. The whole front part of her hair was braided into smaller braids on either side of her face, which was then pulled back and braided into one long, thick braid. Naru kept thinking Usa-chan could use that as a weapon and choke somebody with it. Usagi had pulled out some pretty handmade flower pins made from nail polish, which Naru used to decorate her hair. 

Like this, Usagi really did look like an elegant noble lady straight from some period piece. Naru giggled as she recalled the face her friend had made when she had told her that. Naru wondered if she too should try and decorate her hair with pretty jewelled pins. Her Kaa-san had some nice ones that she had gotten her as a gift last year.

_ ‘Kaa-san is so strong, not even a few days after resting and she was already selling and managing the store.’  _ Naru smiled at the thought, excited to see if Usagi could stay over for dinner today. 

There was a bit of a puzzle about what to do with the money collected from the jewels the monster had sold, but seeing as the thing hadn’t taken any customer information and no one was coming up to ask for a refund, they decided to put it aside for a rainy day. Naru also privately thought it was only fair that her mother  _ some  _ compensation for the rough treatment she had been subjected to, along with everything else the monster had done. 

“Oh? Naru-chan, how bold.” Usagi teased, causing Naru to flush bright red, “Are you ready to finally confess your love to the man?”

So what if she liked older guys! Big deal! Usagi didn’t have to tease her about it! 

Naru swore that the moment Usagi got a boyfriend, or finally developed a crush, she would be just as merciless in her teasing. Pouting as her friend giggled at her, Naru sped up, hoping that Motoki-san was working at the Crown Arcade today.

“Hey now, don’t be upset! I promise not to say anything in front of him and to make myself scarce the moment a romantic situation pops up.” Usagi laughed, grabbing Naru’s hand and pulling her inside the arcade doors. 

“Oof!” 

“Hey!”

Naru stared at a devastatingly handsome man with black hair and the darkest blue eyes she had ever seen, bump into her friend. 

“You!”

“You!”

They both accused at the same time, looking shocked and annoyed at the sight of each other. Naru raised an eyebrow at her friend’s reaction. While Usagi was a warm and kind person, most of the time she was more composed. To see her friend freak out so visibly, especially because of guy... _ Well, _ things just became interesting. 

“Who’sthis Usagi-chan? A  _ friend _ ?” Naru coyly asked, holding back her laughter at the affronted face Usa-chan made. 

“No way, this is just someone I bumped into the other day. No one special.” Usagi primly huffed, composing her face and tone into something more neutral. Naru watched as an offended look crossed the man’s face as her friend walked past him and continued into the arcade. 

“Hey, don’t you mean: ‘the guy who you spilled coffee over’?” He called back, following behind her as she made her way to the booth. 

“Ugh, I already paid you back the damage! What more do you want from me, you jerk!” 

Naru starred as she watched her friend bicker back and forth as they both needled each other. 

_ ‘That’s odd...Usa-chan doesn’t normally name-call people she doesn’t like. She just stares them down till they walk away, or makes a big scene so societal pressure makes them back off.’  _ Naru sat next to them, absently ordering a milkshake as she watched them go at it. 

“Are you really so insipid that you’re bickering with a middle school girl?” Naru winced as Usagi started to jab her finger into his chest as she practically snarled into his face.   
She had graduated to finger-pointing, which was a bad sign for Mister Beautiful Eyes. 

_ ‘Oh boy, you know she’s right upset when she starts bringing her hands into the conversation.’ _ Naru thought, wondering if she should say something to get them to stop.

“No, what I  _ am  _ is annoyed by this girl who is being all sanctimonious, and I am doing my  _ duty  _ of  _ correcting her _ !” Using his height, he loomed over her as he angrily smirked at her. Naru looked away as she noticed she had been staring at his face a little too long. How Usagi was able to argue against hot men was beyond her. In Naru’s mind, that was her best friend’s real superpower; telling pretty people they could just go and choke. 

“Ha! Men like you are so conceited, giving their opinions where it’s not warranted nor wanted!” Nodding absently, Naru finished her milkshake and debated over ordering another. 

  
“Are you always so pretentious when in public?” Okay, so maybe Usagi’s voice was getting a  _ little  _ shrill at this point, but that’s part of what Naru admired about her friend. The way she could just say no to social norms by picking and choosing which ones she wanted to follow.

“Only when I’m stuck to share space with asinine men like you!” 

Now that, Naru disagreed with. Usagi has been getting hit on by boys and girls since the start of middle school, and Naru can think of 5 different people who were  _ way  _ worse than this guy. Yet Usagi had dealt with them far more calmly than she was right now.

_ ‘I wonder why he’s getting under her skin if they only met recently?’ _ Pouting slightly at how long her friend has been ignoring her, Naru debated on whether she should throw water at them. That’d make them stop right?

“That’s a lot of fancy words being thrown around. I wonder what got those two riled up?” 

Standing right beside her was Motoki-san. Kind, gentle, and sensible Motoki-san who was looking straight at her with the cutest little smile. Trying not to swoon, Naru cleared her throat, and she turned to look at the glaring pair. It was safer to look at the pretty people she didn’t have a crush on.

“Don’t know. But I would like to remind them that  _ someone  _ came in here to hang out with me, and so far  _ she  _ has been ignoring me for a man she doesn’t even like.” Naru said loudly and pointedly, crossing her arms at the sheepish look on their faces while hiding her glee at the fact that Motoki was looking at her with respect. 

Plus, Usa-chan was blushing in embarrassment. It was such a rare look on her friend’s face that she needed to savour the moment. 

“Sorry Naru, you’re right. I shouldn’t have ignored you. Want to go play the new Sailor V game? The first 5 rounds will be my treat.” Usagi smiled sheepishly as she gently reached out and hugged her. Naru was flattered that Usagi had completely forgotten Mister Beautiful Eyes’ existence for her.

“Oh, I just can’t stay angry at you. I’ll forgive you, but only if you pay for another milkshake to that deal.” Naru melted into her friend’s hug, she really couldn’t stay mad for long with Usagi. It just wasn't fair how her pretty, pretty friend also had such devastating puppy eyes.

“You bet.” Usagi beamed, as she casually grabbed their stuff and just walked past the two older guys. 

* * *

Collecting the prizes Usagi had won from the new arcade game, she wondered just what the hell had come over her. She had  _ never  _ reacted that strongly before, and she didn’t like it. If Naru hadn’t stopped them, she didn’t know if she would have done something drastic to make him stop smirking at her. 

_ ‘Maybe I could have tried to choke him with my ridiculously long braid. It’s certainly thick enough to act as a rope.’  _ Usagi thought with lingering murderous intent, still feeling worked up and full of restless energy.

Glancing over to the booth, she noticed that the guy was still there. He seemed to be chatting with Motoki-onii-san about homework, as they both were looking intensely at the book between them. 

_ ‘He hadn’t even said anything ridiculously insulting,’  _ she begrudgingly thought,  _ ‘I certainly have heard way worse before. If I was playing devil’s advocate, I’d even say he was probably annoyed because his jacket isn’t fixed.’ _

She had noticed he was wearing a different jacket; it was less ugly than the previous one, so really she had done him favour!

But why did she explode like that? It was like the very idea of just... not getting the last word, or him walking away from her, had triggered something. 

_ ‘Wait...triggered something…?’  _ Stopping to place a hand over her chest, Usagi focused on that spot inside. It had been so faint she hadn’t even noticed until she focused intently on it, but it  _ was  _ pulsing in time with her heart... And tugging gently towards where the jerk was sitting. 

“Oh no.” She whispered, completely horrified at the thought of what that could mean.

“Usagi-chan?” Naru asked, looking concerned that she suddenly stopped walking. Usagi’s brain was trying to restart, as she tried to process  _ why  _ this  _ thing  _ inside her was pushing her to interact with some random stranger. 

“OH HELL NO!!” 

Usagi could take a lot of things. She could deal with being forced to be a superhero, she could deal with strange alien eldritch monsters pretending to be regular cats. She could even deal with  _ maybe  _ losing her future to become some Princess’s bodyguard. But if there was one thing she could not, would not do, is be yanked to some bullshit Destiny.

_ ‘This setup has all the tropes and cliches of a 90s romantic comedy sitcom!’  _ She fumed, tuning out Naru’s calls as she bit her lower lip in frustration at how obvious it all seemed now! Turning her attention towards the energy inside, Usagi focused all of her attention on sending the following thoughts and feelings to it.

_ ‘I will never be with someone whom I don’t respect and who doesn’t respect me. I will never date someone who would use insults to get my attention, and I most definitely will not date ANYONE so much older than me while I am stuck in a 14-year-old-body!’  _

Getting someone she cares about arrested for statuary rape is not okay either, which she made sure to stridently shout at the energy The thing seemed to get a hint as it slowly pulsed to a stop, though something told her it wasn’t done with meddling with her life either.

“Usagi-chan! Can you hear me?!” Naru’s worried face suddenly popped into her line of sight as she noticed she was being vigorously shaken like a maraca. 

“Naru…” Hugging her friend, Usagi hid her face in her shoulder. This was all too much. Can someone take a vacation from life? She’d like to get off this ride now, maybe take some time in the afterlife she skipped.

“Usa-chan? Are you ok?” Naru asked in concern, and Usagi truly appreciated her at this moment. Dear, sweet Naru, who was supportive and wiser than her years. An old soul who got her. 

“No. I’m not. Can we hang out at your place today?” Usagi was  _ done  _ with magic mystical energies, and hot jerks who were being forced onto her path by the whims of “fate”. Feeling Naru tighten her grip on her, Usagi missed the terrifying glare she gave to the staring boys in the corner. Both had frozen from coming any closer and even took a step back at the sheer murder Naru had on her face.

“Yeah, let’s go home.” she replied.

  
  
  



	6. Chapter 5: Love is on the Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have time to post one more chapter tomorrow and then that's it for 2019~! Crazy ne?
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

# Love Is On the Air

* * *

 _‘Just my luck,’_ Usagi cursed as she fervently drew a sitting Naru, who was posing by the window _‘First day back at school, and of course, Umino-kun has to get brainwashed and try to force a kiss on me.’_

She didn’t know how to make it any clearer that she was in the “no dating age”. Everyone was either too young mentally but the same age physically as her _or_ too old by the law’s standards even if they are mentally at her level. 

“Can you tilt your head a little to the left Na-chan? Thanks.”

Luckily, the school was kind enough to recognize that the boys doing vandalism were influenced by the monsters attacking the city. No one got suspended or expelled because of their actions. Now if only they would stop trying to ask her out, then everything would be perfect! 

_‘And if that wasn’t bad enough, my past memories are acting up.’_ Snippets of memories from **_before_** has been haunting her dreams and waking hours. A certain laugh would remind her of friends long gone; a smell would bring up memories of home long gone, and English class has become her personal hell. Where she used to live, English was the main language; which meant every day there was a chance of her being triggered in class. 

Plus, now a brand new set of memories was invading her life. Like, what the hell? Just how many **times** has she been reincarnated?!

_‘Life at school has become even more exhausting than the superhero gig.’_ She grumbled, digging the pencil deeply into the paper, _‘Here, I can’t blast people or classes to oblivion.’_

At least the art teacher had paired her up with Naru, giving Usagi one of her favourite models to work with. 

“Hey, Usa-chan…” Usagi finished sketching her friend’s hair before focusing on the shades around her face, as the light gave her a more mature look. Praise be for Naru; her friend has been so patient and understanding with her. She proved every day why that not-cat was wrong to try and separate them. Thankfully, at least Luna rarely visited her home. Apparently, she still got twitchy around her bookshelf, and side-eyed Naru whenever she visited (which was all the time). 

“Just give me 3 more minutes and then you can talk, Na-chan.” She really wanted to capture the depth of emotion in her friend’s eyes. If there was one thing Usagi admired of Naru, it was the intensity in which she felt things, especially for the people she cared about. Those very feelings kept Usagi grounded in the present, and stopped her from drowning in her past lives’ experiences. 

“Phew! Okay, what did you want to say?” Maybe Usagi would be able to keep the sketch and gift it to Osaka-san. She always did love it when Usagi painted or sketched her or her daughter.

“Have you heard about that new late-night radio show, Midnight Zero, that’s been all the rage lately?” Naru seemed pretty excited about the talk show host, who apparently called themselves J-Dite, that readout love letters to the listeners. Which, honestly Usagi thought it was pretty weird for anyone to do and for listeners to enjoy hearing. Weren’t those supposed to be private?

“He has the most soothing voice! And, if your letter gets chosen you get a beautiful flower brooch! You have to listen to it with me, please Usagi-chan?” 

Curse her friend’s puppy eyes. They were too powerful. 

“Okay…” Usagi sighed as her best friend pulled her in a hug, squealing about how much fun they would have tonight.

_‘The things I do for friendship.’_

* * *

“My old diary was full of you, and my diary now is full of the past. I want to see you. I want to see you one more time. I want to tell you my true feelings.” Usagi would give him this: the man knew how to make woodenly cheesy lines sound seductive and full of emotional depth.

“That was so romantic!” Naru looked completely enchanted as she sighed softly. Smiling awkwardly at Naru’s beaming smile, Usagi wondered on how to break it to her friend that it really...wasn’t.

“This was sent to us from Haruna the Dreamer from Juubangai.” J-Dite’s voice dripped with charm, clearly blinding Naru from catching on that their teacher’s name is Haruna and she’s also from Juubangai. 

‘Wouldn’t it be funny if it really was our teacher?’ Usagi wondered who it was that their teacher wanted to see again. An old boyfriend maybe? Or perhaps one who got away...

“Such romantic poetry, I wish I could write like that.” Naru swooned as she lay on Usagi’s bed, clearly not up to going to bed yet. Sighing softly, she shoved Na-chan off and onto her futon, ignoring her friends annoyed glances as she looked down at her from the edge of the bed.

“Naru, that wasn’t poetry. At _best_ that was prose, really bad prose, but poetry? I’ve heard better.” Usagi used to keep a book full of quotes and poems that had caught her eye. Maybe she should get into the habit of that again? 

A pillow smacked her right in the face as Naru giggled in front of her.

“Oh really? Well, then why don’t you recite one right now?” She taunted, clearly daring her to fail in the face of her expectation. Luckily for her, there was one verse that Usagi remembered clearly; it was because, in her mind, the eyes say a lot about a person. Clearing her throat, she looked away from her friend’s expectant face and began to recite.

“Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;” Usagi thought of all the different eyes she saw in her memories; warm brown ones, cold grey ones, and more recently, soothing dark blue ones.

“Their beauty shakes me who was once serene. Upon my word, I tell you faithfully,” Those blue ones felt familiar to her in a way the others hadn’t. It shook her in a way she wasn’t ready to tackle, “Through life and after death, you are my queen.”

Haunting eyes that wouldn’t let her go, no matter if she died and was reborn again. 

“For with my death, the whole truth shall be seen.” Usagi had a complicated relationship with the two. She just hoped that she wouldn’t have to die again to make peace with them.

Naru’s face stared in awe as the last word hung between them. Feeling the silence stretch, Usagi dared to break it by whispering the name and author of the poem.

“Rondel Of Merciless Beauty by Geoffrey Chaucer,” Usagi whispered, crawling closer to her dumbfounded friend,” And that, dear Na-chan, is real poetry.” Smacking her lightly with her pillow, Usagi smiled as Naru snapped out of her trance and stuck her tongue out as she got into bed.

“Night Usa-chan. Thanks for listening to me.” Smiling distractedly, Usagi prayed she’d get a break from the memories tonight. She missed getting her full 7 hours of sleep.

“No problem, Na-chan. What are friends for?”

* * *

Her parents had been uncomfortable to send Usagi and Naru to school that morning, with the sudden rise of a “sleeping disease” in the area. She would have to apologize for brushing off their concerns so quickly, as not even 15 minutes after arriving, her homeroom teacher had become a victim.

_‘A creepy sensation had filled the room the moment Sakurada-sensei had walked in. It was honestly and literally, hair raisingly creepy.’_ The ambulance sped away as Usagi stared grimly at her magical brooch. It looks like magical trouble was afoot. She could probably expect Luna to visit her house today then. Knowing that cat, she’d be yowling to get her butt into gear even with so little information to go on. 

“Usagi, do you think sensei is going to be ok?” Fretted Naru, “I hear lots of people have been getting this sleeping disease, but it’s not real right? It has to be because of a monster right?”

Smiling reassuringly at the concerned red-head, Usagi glanced meaningfully at a curious Umino-san, who was eavesdropping badly into their conversation. School or other public areas really weren’t the best spaces to talk about monsters and her superhero gig. 

“Who knows? Anyway, do you want to head to the arcade first before going home? Maybe Motoki-onii-san has heard something about it.” Smiling at her friend’s flustered face, Usagi felt that even if Motoki didn’t know anything, at least it would cheer her friend up to see him.

“You guys should really go straight home! With one of the teachers getting sick, who knows if the school will shut down or not.” Umino-san wasn't wrong. If she had been an ordinary girl, and Na-chan was an ignorant civilian, then yes, Usagi would have agreed and backed Umino-san up. But right now, what her friend needed wasn't to go home and stress about it. She needed a distraction. 

Still… 

"Thanks, Umino-san. You're a good friend." 

The poor boy looked ready to pass out at her words. Naru giggled up a storm, making any future discomfort from Umino-san thinking he has a chance with her, worth it in Usagi's eyes. 

* * *

Motoki-onii-san was an excellent distraction. By the end of the visit, Naru's energy was back to normal. She also found that he actually knew quite a bit about the sleeping disease. Apparently all the victims seemed drained of energy as if they had a stronger form of Narcolepsy. The police couldn't figure out what was connecting them since they were all different in age, health, and lifestyle. 

Usagi managed to get him to reveal that, the jerk who might not actually be a jerk, was doing his co-op at the hospital. He also had a name, Chiba Mamoru, and was studying to become a doctor. A lot of his spare time was volunteering at clinics and community centres. 

_'He actually sounds like a pretty cool guy.'_ she mused, thinking it's such a shame she hasn't been able to talk to him like a human being. If it wasn’t for the energy, he sounds like he would have been a decent person to try and get to know better.

“Usa-chan...I want to write a love letter for Moonlight Zero. Will you please help me?” 

Urk! Not the puppy eyes, Usagi thought, trying to avoid her best friend’s expectant gaze. 

“Naru, I’m not sure if I’ll have time today. If Luna visits-” Usagi protested, making sure to not look at her face. 

“Pleeeaaase?” 

Sighing, and knowing herself to be a sucker, Usagi hoped that Luna would come late today. 

* * *

Setting up the radio, Usagi vaguely noticed that Luna had let herself in and was lying lazily on her bed.

“...How long have you been here?” Usagi felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought that the not-cat had been hiding in her room the whole time Naru was here. It felt like yet _more_ shady behaviour, which wasn’t helping Usagi trust her.

“Since your friend left and you started getting ready in the bathroom,” Luna sighed, stretching out her body before making her way closer to Usagi. “By the way, do you have to take so long in the bathroom? I’ve been meaning to speak with you for ages.”

“Let’s see how long it takes _you_ to wash your hair when it’s longer than your entire body, and then you can talk to me about time constraints.” She groused, already not looking forward to their conversation about the new monster. Because of course there was a new monster, that was the _only reason_ Luna even bothered to visit her.

“I’ve been looking into the victims, and I noticed a lot of them were females who had the same flower brooch on their clothes. If we can find where they are getting them, maybe then we can find the source of this sleeping disease.”

“Congratulations Luna, you are now officially smarter than the Tokyo Police force.” Usagi smirked, highly amused at the thought of this alien cat just beating trained humans at their job.

“Naturally, I was the advisor to the Queen for many, many years. It is only natural that my detective skills and intelligence reflect it.” She preened, swishing her tail to and fro in arrogance. 

“Well, I’m afraid our hero-ing is going to have to wait till after the Midnight Zero program tonight. I want to see if Naru’s letter gets picked or not.” 

Making herself comfortable in front of the radio, she quickly set it to FM No.10. While she wasn’t a fan of hearing the lonely hearts special, she did want to be a supportive friend, and that triumphed any second-hand embarrassment she felt listening to these love letters. 

“I can’t believe you are focusing on flippant matters when a monster is loose in Tokyo,” Luna complained, clearly expecting her to drop everything and obey what she had to say. Too bad for her Usagi wasn’t in a listening mood, and would rather go to bed after his than run around the city hunting for clues. 

“I can when we have limited knowledge and nothing will change if I don’t go out searching right this second,” she retorted, “Now hush! They just picked a love letter to read.”

“This special letter is by Naru from Juubangai; It’s nice to believe in fate. That we were always meant to meet. Fate intertwined, I long to see you, my destined love.”

Cringing slightly at the cheesy words, Usagi was glad that Naru reached her goal in getting her letter picked. Knowing her, she would be over the moon tomorrow.

_‘Plus, since her letter was picked first I can go to sleep!_ ’ Shoving Luna off her bed and into a basket full of clothes, Usagi told her she could either stay over and sleep there or get out and bother her tomorrow. 

“How rude! I can see you are going to be difficult tonight. Mayhap tomorrow you will be in a more reasonable mood.” It was always kinda funny to Usagi at how expressive Luna was when she flounced off with her tail in the air. Turning off the lights, she wondered what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

_“ **Mija, no te olvides a venir directamente a la casa despues de escuela.** ” A woman with warm brown eyes spoke, gently caressing her hair before giving her a hug._

_A flash of light, and another woman stood facing a dark star-filled night sky. Long silver hair pulled into two pigtail buns surprisingly looked good on the older woman. Turning to face her, Usagi was struck at how nearly identical her face was to her own._

_“Daughter, whatever you do, don’t -”_

_Another flash and the brown-eyed woman replaced her, continuing to speak as if nothing had happened._

_“I need to practice my English. **Eso fue mejor***?” _

_The setting had changed to a warm kitchen, filled with nicknacks and other homey touches. This place looked lived in, full of memories, the sweet and the sour._

_“That was-” Usagi found herself unable to replay the scene as the change happened once more. Now the room was cold and imperial looking, with white marble walls and flooring as crystals decorated the space. It felt so sterile and elegant as if the aesthetic had replaced the life that was being lived here._

_“The crystal can never fall into enemy hands. Which is why, as it’s heir, you must-” The silver-haired lady was back, still jarring in appearance but overwhelmingly regal. Though her eyes looked at Usagi with love, her manner was so formal and distant. It was as if she were not family at all, but someone who expected Usagi to obey her commands without question._

_“No, I don’t want to be the heir!” Usagi felt herself cry without any consent on her part, her voice sounding both older and younger, “I want to live on Earth and be with -”_

_Once more the entire setting changed and she found herself eating at a table. Delicious smelling food weighed it down, as the people around her (the family?) talked and laughed, all while they passed the food and just enjoyed being together._

* * *

The alarm clock rang, tearingUsagi from her fitful sleep as she tiredly got herself out of bed. Already, she could tell this would be one of those days where she would need to have a double fudge sundae to get through the day. Fighting with her hair, Usagi eventually decided on a simple bun style at the base of her neck. Since her hair was too long for normal buns, Usagi improvised and made it much bigger than usual, using two hand-decorated hairpins to keep it all in place. 

Making it just in time for the bell, Usagi saw the crowd of girls around Naru’s chair as she held a package in her hands. Considering how happy Naru was, that must have been the prize for getting her letter selected t. 

“Usa-chan! You’re late, I was waiting for you to arrive before I opened it.” Naru pouted, clearly wanting her to apologize so she could open her prize.

“Maa, I had a rough night. Congrats on getting your letter chosen Na-chan.” Usagi smiled. Naru barely heard her apology as she tore it open, revealing a purple flower brooch, with pearls in the middle. All the girls ooh-ed and ahh-ed over it as Naru pinned it to her uniform. 

A wave of nausea suddenly overtook Usagi the next moment, and she staggered back into her desk. Naru seemed to wilt in front of her eyes, as she yawned loudly before flopping over into a deep sleep. Their classmate, Hikaru-chan, reached out to shake her awake but it seemed to Usagi that the moment she touched Naru, she too collapsed. 

Panicked screams filled the room as an ambulance was called and the teachers alerted. Staring resentfully at the ambulance taking her friend away, Usagi swore that whoever was behind this was going to regret ever targeting her friend.

_‘And I have a pretty good idea at who's behind it all.’_ She thought with cold fury, picking up the remains of the package from FM No. 10.

* * *

Later that night, Usagi waited for Luna as she made her excuses to her family before she headed to bed early; no sense in worrying them even more. Mayumi-san had been nigh inconsolable with Naru in the hospital, prompting her mom to stay with her for the night. 

Her rage just seemed to build ever higher as she impatiently waited for the cat to get there. The soft click of her window being opened seemed to echo like a gunshot in the darkroom, as Usagi sat by her bed.

“Usagi-san?” Luna seemed to hesitate as she stayed by the window, seeming reluctant to enter further into the room.

“Finally, took you long enough! Let’s go, I know where the monster is.” Transforming into her Moonlight Knight outfit, Usagi barely let Luna speak as she scooped her up onto her shoulder, before jumping on to the rooftops. 

“Usagi-san! You can’t just go in through the roof! I already checked, and there are cameras all over!” Luna seemed to panic as she dug her claws into her shoulder, clearly trying not to slide off as Usagi ran faster and faster towards the radio station.

“So? It’s not like my face is visible. And with how my body is so different, who cares if they catch me on tape?” Seeing the building up ahead, she grew more reckless in her jumps, nearly missing the ledge several times. 

“We need to keep a low profile for as long as possible! Usagi-san wait! I have something to help you!” Luna seemed to finally get through to Usagi, as she slid into a nearby alley and dropped the cat to the floor.

“What have you got?” Usagi asked, feeling like restless at waiting for too long. She wanted to get in there and beat up Mr. J-Dite, and his stupid seductive voice, for tempting Naru into writing for his stupid energy snatching scheme.

“A disguise pen that will make it impossible for the enemy to realize who you are, and make other civilians believe you are whatever you claim to be.” Jumping into the air, she did that same twirl as before when they first met. A pink pen with a red jewel at the end, suddenly appeared on the ground, as Luna looked anxiously at her face. 

Examining it in her hands, Usagi briskly asked how to activate it, of which she had to, once again, yell the transformation phrase, “Moon Power! Turn me into a newscaster!”

Bright lights filled the alleyway as her hair became chin length and brown, while her eyes darkened to a black colour. Her black straight-laced skirt with her white blouse gave her a more serious feel, while sensible lower-heeled shoes finished the look. She could even feel the light amount of makeup on her face, giving her a more serious yet elegant look.

“Right, let’s get this over with.” Marching through the doors like a woman on a mission, Usagi absently noticed how the guard seemed to avoid getting in her way. Storming all the way to the recording room, she noticed almost everyone inside was passed out except for a striking young woman with short red-brown hair and a handsome blonde reading the love letters.

“There you are...you fatuous scum.” Clutching her hidden brooch, Usagi quickly changed back into her Moonlight Knight form. She was ready to show this walking dead man what happens to those who messed with her family.

Creating her crescent light blades, she quickly burst into the room and fired them at the woman. She was knocked over by the force of the blasts while Usagi used another pair of crescents to break the window. 

Throwing herself into the room, she let her rage blind her as she pulled out her physical knives and tried to attack him. Unfortunately, anger did not suddenly make Usagi a melee fighter, as she quickly discovered by being thrown across the room like a sack of flour.

“Moonlight Knight, getting a little violent aren’t we? Luckily for you, I have far too much to do than tangle with a hot-headed little bug. Flowa! Deal with the insolent little pest.” Making his way out of the room, the blond man arrogantly looked back at Usagi, smirking at the way she was holding her arm in pain. 

“On the off chance that you survive, you should know how outclassed you are to go up against me. I am General Jadeite, and you better pray you don’t live to face me.”

Snarling as she watched him walk away, laughing a stupid cliché laugh that was going to haunt her most infuriating nightmares, Usagi braced herself as the monster transformed into a similar-looking corpse woman as the one who had attacked her father. The only difference was this one was green with rippling muscles. Dodging its attacks, she escaped through the hole in the roof and made her way outside the building. Luna was left behind, trying to awaken the sleeping workers and get out of the monster’s range. She really was useless when it came to physical backup.

Firing her light crescents, Usagi was frustrated at the lack of damage they were inflicting. Oh, sure the monster had new cuts and all, but nothing to the extent as before when she had popped off its arm and head. Pouring more energy into her attacks, she panted as it finally sliced off its head. 

Creepily, and just like the first monster, it still continued to fire beams of energy out of its mouth as the head rolled towards her at full speed. 

_‘Maybe that wasn’t the smartest of moves.’_ Usagi thought, as she now had to dodge the light beams from a harder to hit target. Ripping off her tiara as she remembered what had finished the first monster, she screamed “Moon Tiara Action”, seeming to miss by a mile as the head laughed at the attempt. Drawing her hands towards her body, Usagi pulled the tiara back, smirking as it disintegrated the body, causing the head to rot until it was nothing but dust.

Stepping to the side, she reached out into the shadows of the building. Grasping onto the arm of a man wearing a tuxedo with a top hat and cape, she pulled him into the light. 

“Now, just who are you when you're at home?” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish to English Translations:
> 
> Mija, no te olvides a venir directamente a la casa despues de escuela - Daughter, don't forget to come directly to the house after school
> 
> Eso fue mejor? - was that better?
> 
> Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns! ☺


	7. Chapter 6: Its Midnight Somewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! Here's the last chapter of 2019!
> 
> Just a reminder that I still don't own the “Rondel Of Merciless Beauty" poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. 
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic!

#  Its Midnight Somewhere

* * *

“I am Tuxedo Mask.” An awkward pause grew between them as Usagi waited for him to follow that up with something.

“...O..k... and I am Moonlight Knight. Thanks. For, you know, helping Osaka-san.” 

“Your welcome.”

_ ‘Silent type huh?’  _ Usagi refused to let their first meeting end with just an exchange of names and some blasé thank you. Switching her grip from his arm to his wrist, Usagi tried again to get answers from him. 

“Why do you keep trying to run off? What are you, some kind of Cinderella whose magic runs out at midnight?” The masked man gave a little huff of amusement at her words, proving that he could at least smile. 

_ ‘Why does that sound so familiar?’ S _ he thought in puzzlement, struck with the feeling that she had heard that  _ exact _ sound before.

“I cannot stay.” He gently pulled his wrist from her grip, taking care to not hurt her in the process. His touch was very kind for such a cold sounding man.

“Why? We’re on the same side aren’t we?” She didn’t get why they couldn’t at least talk.

“You are unharmed and the monster has been destroyed. There is no more need for me here.” Pulling out a rose from his vest, Usagi stepped back as it seemed to glow before bursting into a shower of petals, obscuring him from her view.

_ ‘...He’s gone.’  _ Rubbing her arms, she tried to get some heat back into her body, as the aches and pains from the fight seemed to hit her. Small cuts littered the back of her arms, with a few staining her clothes with her blood. Peeking into the hole in the roof, Usagi ducked as a jumping Luna landed on her shoulder.

“You might have defeated the monster, but you were too reckless!” Tilting her head to the side to avoid being shouted at in her ears, Usagi sighed as she prepared for the long trip home, too exhausted to go any faster than a snail's pace.

“I know.” she deadpanned, already getting the feeling that nothing new or constructive would come from this conversation.

“You let your anger blind you.” Luna continued to rant, digging her claws in Usagi’s shoulder when she failed to pay attention to her words.

“Ouch! Watch it! I know, alright?!”

“You should never have tried to fight that General at close range when you obviously aren’t good at close range fighting.” Sighing in exasperation, Usagi pulled Luna from her shoulder and set her by the window. Releasing her transformation, she winced at how stark her bruises and cuts looked against her pale skin.

“Oh trust me, that’s a lesson I literally just got beaten into me” Grabbing some medical cream from her drawer, she prayed that tomorrow her skin would look less like she went one on one with someone and lost. 

“We must awaken the other Sailor Scouts! You clearly cannot continue to fight our enemy alone, they are growing too strong.”

Usagi held back a retort, feeling slightly insulted at the cat’s wording. She was operating completely on her own, untrained, and Luna could barely provide non-combative support. The fact she had come out alive and not maimed from these fights were things to be proud of, let alone that she was managing to destroy the monsters. But really, she didn’t know how to feel about the fact that she would soon have to work with a crew. 

Particularly the sinking feeling the term “awaken” gave her.

“Since when are there other Scouts?” she groused, ignoring the unimpressed look Luna was throwing at her.

“Don’t you remember? I told you that, besides the Moonlight Knights, there were Scouts that protected the royal family and heir! The Princess needs her guardians in order to truly be safe.” 

She gave Luna a dry look at how quickly she seemed to have changed her mind on how awesome Moonlight Knights were. Though she supposed that the Moonlight Knights might have prioritized the Queen, with the royal family as a secondary priority. It sounds like the Scouts were something like the counterpart to the Moonlight Knights then, with the mandate to prioritize the heir to the throne. 

“...I thought you said I was enough? Pretty rude to change your mind so quickly Luna.” She huffed, braiding her hair into a single simple braid before sliding into bed. 

“I’m saying that the enemy has allies. So should we.” Luna argued sensibly, making herself comfortable near the window.

“...You know, that’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard you say since I met you.” Usagi smirked at the offended yowl and buried her face under her pillows. Holding back a laugh, she ignored the angry shoves and thumps the cat was giving her legs. 

“And just what do you mean by that?! Usagi-san? Usagi-san!?”

* * *

Usagi sighed as she made her way to class. Her mom had been so nervous about the results of her practice test, as it would start giving the family an idea of which high school she would be able to apply for. 

_ ‘The one positive is that she was too frazzled to notice the bruises or cuts’. _ Luna had stayed the night and had managed to help her bandaging the cuts on her back in the morning. Despite the lack of hands or opposable thumbs, which was mildly impressive. She had taken too long covering all of her wounds however, forcing Usagi to do her pigtail buns hairstyle for the sake of time. 

As she got older, more pressure fell on her to get higher and higher grades; it didn’t help that she had dropped a bit in school due to her study time being cut. 

_ ‘Praised be for Naru’s notes, or else I really would have been in trouble.’  _ She thought, as she cheerfully smiled at a sitting Naru and placed a bar of chocolate on her friend’s desk. 

“Alright class, the scores have been posted and you will be allowed to leave homeroom ten minutes early to take a look at how you have placed.” Sakurada-sensei began to cheerfully remind the class on how these marks would help determine the path of their futures. The class seemed to flash by before she suddenly found herself staring at the National Practice Exam Rankings. 

_ ‘Mom will be happy, I ranked #35 out of the entire school and #5 out of my year.’  _ All that cramming with Naru and her notes had really paid off. Her mother had originally wanted to send her to cram school but the prices alone were enough to make anyone cry. And nowadays, the sheer time commitment would have conflicted with her nightly adventures.

“Hm?” Glancing at the rest of the ranks, Usagi noticed that Mizuno Ami-san, the girl from Class 5 in her year, had beat the rest of the school and gotten the number one spot. 

“So the genius girl placed first again huh? It must be so nice to never have to worry about getting a bad mark.” Mai-san, another girl from her class, grumbled to Naru as they each found their names on the board.

“Well, I’m sure she had to study hard to get those grades. Hard work more than makes up for natural talent.” Naru replied, clearly not comfortable with the direction of this conversation. 

“Oh, don’t be such a kid Naru-san. The only reason that girl got first place is cause she’s loaded and can go to the finest cram schools.” Kana added, shooting a resentful stare at Mizuno-san, who was standing further away from the crowd as she stared at her mark.

“Plus, anytime she is invited to an outing she coldly rejects them in favour of studying! That girl only loves books, so it’s no wonder she’s so good at school.” Mai added, clearly adding more fuel to the fire as other students started to gossip about Mizuno.

  
  


“Ugh! I wish my parents could stop being such a pain and understand that I need more than just studying in my life! How can I ever get a boyfriend if I’m stuck inside all day studying? Do they want me to get wrinkles?!” Misaki, a girl from class 5, accidentally took the attention away from the resident genius as the other girls started to join in at the weird and harsh lengths their parents had gone to get them to get good grades.

To be perfectly frank, Usagi had never paid much attention to Mizuno Ami. She was just some transfer student who happened to be in a different class and was never in the same spaces as her.

_ ‘I wonder if she’s lonely.’  _ Scoffing at herself, Usagi rubbed her arms as the ache came back,  _ ‘What am I thinking? Of course, she’s lonely. Who wouldn’t be when the whole school is keeping you at arm's length?’  _

“Usagi-chan?” Naru placed an arm over her shoulders, giving her a slight sideways hug. Leaning into her friend, Usagi noticed Mizuno staring at the two of them before re-entering the classroom.

_ ‘What was that about?’  _

* * *

Walking home from school, Usagi wondered if she should pass by the arcade and see if she should treat herself for a job well done. A light breeze picked up her skirt, as a black shadow streaked past her, dashing from the ground to the ledge of a gate. 

_ ‘Luna?’ _ Turning to follow, Usagi stopped as she realized Mizuno Ami was walking up ahead. The crazy not-cat jumped onto her classmate’s shoulder and quickly became putty in her hands. Feeling mildly amused at the sight of a melting alien cat, she sauntered over, calling out to Luna. 

_ ‘Wow, Mizuno has a great poker face.’  _ Her classmate’s expression hadn’t changed a bit during their little chat. The only emotion flashing on her face was the sincerity of her belief that she had mistaken Luna for an angel. 

A startled laugh escaped her lips at that oddly cute remark, though Usagi wondered how on earth a cat and an angel could be mistaken for each other; especially  _ this  _ cat. Beaming at the face of an uncomfortable Luna, she placed her in Mizuno’s arms as she explained that, “Her name is Luna, and she’s more of a friendly neighbourhood cat than a pet.” 

“Luna? Isn’t that English for “moon”?”

“Clever!. You’re the first person who’s realized what her name means!” Usagi smiled as she watched her classmate blush in embarrassment. Maybe she wasn’t as cold as people thought. Luna seemed to have enough of this situation, as she quickly escaped down the street. Reassuring Mizuno-san that Luna would be ok on her own, Usagi decided she didn’t want her to leave just yet.

“Hey, do you want to hang out with me for a while? Come on!” Gently grabbing her classmate's hand, she pulled her to the Crown Arcade, feeling kind of excited that she’d get to introduce her to the Sailor V game.

“It’s a little hard at first if you’re not used to it, so don’t feel bad if you don’t get a high score.” Usagi wished she hadn’t noticed that Chiba wasn’t there. Even though the energy wasn’t pushing her anymore, she still felt hyper-aware of her reactions to him. 

Glancing back at the screen, Usagi stared dumbfounded as Mizuno-san broke the high score in record time, drawing a crowd of arcade geeks. She seemed to be in a trance as she destroyed monster after monster, concerning Usagi enough to gently shake her shoulder.

“Oh no! I’m late for cram school! Thank you so much for inviting me Tsukino-san, it was a lot of fun!” Rushing to get through the crowd, Mizuno-san’s bag burst open, scattering her books all over the floor.

Usagi managed to tease out that she went to the prestigious new cram school, Crystal Seminar, every day while she helped Mizuno pick up her books.

“After all, studying is all I’m good at.” Usagi stared worriedly at the rueful smile Mizuno had on her face as she dashed away. 

“Wow, interesting hair. You’re a real Odango-Atama aren’t you?”

Turning to see Chiba smirking down at her, Usagi made sure to suppress any energy daring to meddle. With her having such a strong grip on it, she could notice the small things she hadn’t before. First and most concerningly, Chiba-san looked pale, and not in a healthy way. Second, there were slight bags under his eyes, which meant he clearly wasn’t resting well. And thirdly, he was leaning heavily against the pole, as if he had very little energy to spare. 

_ ‘What on earth-?’ _ Usagi silently gasped; was he perhaps a victim of another active monster?

“Motoki told me that all the girls in the area had been sending love letters to some late talk show. Did you do it too?”

“Why do you care?” Usagi hid a smile as he frowned at her even tone. She wondered if he was puzzled at her lack of reaction. 

“No reason, just wondering what a middle school student would know of good poetry. That’s all.” If she had just a little bit less control, Usagi was certain he’d be sending her into a fit of temper, what with his looming attitude. Raising an eyebrow at his words, she tilted her face away, dismissing him with her eyes as she began to rummage through her bag. 

“So, you would say you’re more nuanced regarding love poetry Chiba-san? How bold, I know very few men who would admit that.” 

_ Shoot! _ Usagi internally cursed,  _ I hadn’t meant to say that! Ugh is this the stupid energy again? _

“Are you challenging me to recite poetry? I’m not so self-conscious as to believe that it’s wrong for a man to like the written word.” Clearing his throat, Usagi felt herself absently note that when he stood up straight he was ridiculously tall. Like, what the hell was he eating and where could she get some. She would like several spare inches too.

“Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly,” He began, causing Usagi to freeze in shock as she recognized the stanza. 

“Their beauty shakes me who was once serene.” Okay, he did  _ not  _ have to stare at her so intensely as he spoke. That was just not okay with her right now. Nope, not one bit. 

_ Look away buddy, stop being so freaking intense, I am 14!  _

"Upon my word, I tell you faithfully, Through-”

Unable to take it any longer, Usagi cut him off, saying the next stanza firmly. What was she doing? Why was she doing this? She internally screamed as she took a step towards him.  “-life and after death you are my queen.” 

Chiba whispered the last stanza as he seemed to get closer, a stubborn look on his face, "For with my death the whole truth shall be seen.”

There must have been a week’s worth of awkward pauses as they both just stared at each other in silence in front of the freaking arcade. 

_ ‘Praise be, for Motoki-onii-san! _ ’ Usagi thought, as the kind young man stepped out and broke the weirdly intense moment.

“Usagi-chan! I’m so glad you’re still here! Your friend dropped this.” Grabbing the disk from his hands, a cold chill went down her back as she quickly dropped it in her bag.

“Thanks, I’ll make sure she gets it back. See you later Motoki-onii-san!” Smiling cheerfully as he walked back in the arcade, Usagi faced that guy and forced herself to treat him normally. What came out was oddly stilted and formal, but she’d take it.

“Chiba-san. It’s been a pleasure. Good day.” 

_ ‘Oh lord, that was the stiffest reply I’ve ever given someone.’ _ Walking away with her head high, Usagi refused to be ashamed of her awkward duck moment. That interaction could have ended far worse. 


	8. Chapter 7 : Bubble and Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years Everyone! First Post in 2020!!! 
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

#  Bubble and Trouble

* * *

_ ‘That was so awkward! What the hell is wrong with me? Was it the energy?’ _ Rubbing her temples in frustration, Usagi leaned against a telephone pole as she tried to get her bearings back. 

“Usagi-san? Usagi-san!” The not-cat raced up to her before sitting primly at her side. 

“Oh, Luna. When did you catch up?” It must be serious if she was bugging her twice in one day, she dryly thought. Luna never came around without wanting to demand something of her: time, attention, obedience... The list only got longer as time passed.

“That’s not important right now. What is, is that you have to go to your school first before returning that disk.” Taking note of the seriousness in her tone, Usagi decided not to question it, just this once. 

_ ‘There is something inherently creepy at seeing a cat decode a floppy disk’s programing so easily.’ _ If Usagi wasn’t wary about Luna before, which she already had been, she would now that she was getting a demonstration just how intelligent Luna was. 

“Just as I suspected!” Luna hissed, pressing a few buttons before a horrible high pitched noise began to emerge. 

Covering her ears, Usagi watched dumbfounded as a warped voice began to demand that she give up all of her knowledge and mental energy. 

“...offer it to our great ruler, Queen Beryl and become our servant.” It droned, before repeating the message again.

_ ‘...Queen...Beryl?’  _ A splitting ache in her forehead caused Usagi to bend over in pain as the image of a young woman with raven wavy hair and purple eyes, with a large beryl stone hanging between her forehead glared at her hatefully from behind a white marble pillar. 

_ ‘Who..are you?’  _ She wondered why this woman was looking at her with such hate-filled eyes. What could she have possibly done?

“This is a brainwashing device!” Luna quickly stopped the recording before breaking the floppy disk in two.

“Usagi-san, your friend is not a human but a monster! You must go and defeat her before she harms any more people!” It was almost laughable that the cat honestly believed that Usagi would just take her word for it and attack her new friend. But it was alarming that Luna thought she  _ would _ . Again she had to wonder; how exactly did Luna see their odd workplace acquaintance? 

“Where on earth did you get that idea? Mizuno-san is no monster.” It was possible however, thatLuna had spotted something that Usagi had missed. She was considerate enough to at least hear out her reasoning.    
  


“She has a high amount of energy that has been surging and fluctuating, and she has this disk in her possession; she must be the one behind all this.”

Starring flabbergasted at the confident looking alien, Usagi wondered if Luna was actually hearing herself.    
  


“How could a middle school student set up a floppy disk that is used in a newly created cram school? Shouldn’t the teachers or owner be more suspicious?” She knew Luna didn’t always make sense, but this just took the cake. Staring as the not-cat fumbled to reply to her logical question, Usagi wondered if there was more to this accusation than meets the eye.

“Well…” Luna seemed to be fighting something as she struggled to get her words together. SIghing in exhaustion of the whole thing, Usagi kneeled down so she was at eye level with her. 

“Luna, do you really think my new friend is a monster? Or do you think that she’s someone you want to keep an eye out in general.” Seeing her startle and stare at her in shock, Usagi sighed even louder before scooping her up.

“Whatever. Let’s just go deal with this. I’m too tired to care right now.”

* * *

Transforming into a doctor, Usagi wished that she could keep the short brown hair in her everyday life. The length was so much more manageable, and she liked how mature her face looked with chin-length hair. Peeking into room after room, she finally found Mizuno-san’s classroom, filled with teens staring vacantly at the computer screens. There was no studying going on here, which was going to drive many of the students to tears once they fixed this.

Getting Luna to go and shut down the power, took some persuasion on her part, but at least it was something the not-cat could do. 

‘ _ So far the monsters have been adults, so, where is that teacher…’  _ Spotting a woman with dark brown hair glasses, sitting to the side, Usagi narrowed her eyes at the pleased smirk on her face as she grew closer to Mizuno-san. 

“Moon Prism Power Makeup!”

Sliding into the air vents, Usagi prepared an energy crescent, certain that whatever would happen, would happen soon. Sure enough, not even 5 minutes later and the room was plunged into darkness; Luna had been successful then Startled cries echoed, as Mizuno-called out for some help in finding the lights. 

Narrowing her eyes, Usagi watched the teacher transform into a red-skinned monster with fangs, smiling creepily as she made her way closer to an oblivious Mizuno-san. The emergency lights came on, letting Mizuno-san see her teacher-turned-monster smile evilly before being yanked towards her body in a painful grip.

“Caught you~! Now, give up your mental energies and knowledge for my Queen!” 

Throwing her crescent at the monster, Usagi swore as it dodged last minute, causing one of the computers to explode. 

“Who's there?! Show yourself!”

Luna came in at the worst time, catching the attention of the monster and having to dodge the razor-sharp paper weapons.

_ ‘Paper really shouldn’t be this dangerous,’ _ Usagi thought, as instinct seemed to take over. Jumping out, she landed on a desk near Mizuno-san and the enemy, crying out, “Moon Twilight Flash!” as she touched the gem on her tiara. 

The room was bathed in bright moonlight, as the monster screamed and cowered in the burning light. Mizuno-san was released in the process, though a strange thing appeared on her shadow as the light continued to shine.

  
“Oh my! Mizuno Ami is-” Luna gasped, freezing in place as she squinted to see what was going on.

_ ‘The hell’s that mark on her shadow’s forehead? _ ’ Usagi thought, as she prepared a few more crescent moons and flung them at the hunching monster. Its skin was much thicker than the other ones, probably due to the intense exposure of a steady supply of energy it had been exposed to. It managed to only inflict shallow cuts in its skin, forcing Usagi to scramble to find a plan B. 

“Grrr! You wretch! Go, my slaves! Attack! Rip Moonlight Knight from limb to limb!” The students rose in sync as they moaned and groaned as they attacked. Unwilling to harm them, Usagi dodged their hands and jumped from desk to desk, trying to avoid their grabs and lunges. 

“Mizuno Ami-san! Catch!” Usagi wondered why Luna was throwing a blue pen with a strange symbol to her classmate, ‘ _ Wasn’t she trying to hide the fact that she’s not a regular cat?’ _

Poor Mizuno-san looked bewildered, as she subconsciously caught the pen in mid-air. 

“Did that cat just talk!?” 

Choking on an inappropriate laugh, Usagi dodged another student, unsure how to avoid hurting them in such a small space. Firing her crescents in such a tight space was a very uncomfortable idea, as she had yet to test if they would hurt humans as well as monsters.

Speaking of monsters, it had gathered energy into its body, changing its arm into an axe, and began to advance on the frozen Mizuno.

“Forget that! Just cry out Mercury Power Makeup if you want to live!” Luna screeched, seeming to be completely done with people freezing at the sight of a talking cat. 

“Mercury Power Makeup!” A bright blue light wrapped around Mizuno like a ribbon, before bursting away to leave her in a blue coloured sailor outfit. 

“Use your Bubble Spray!” Luna coached, diving between the desks to scratch the monster before darting away. Giant bubbles formed in Mizuno’s cupped hands, before exploding outwards as she made her arms into an X and flicked them outward. A cold mist spread into the room, dropping the temperature and causing the exhausted enslaved students to collapse. 

Making her way next to Mizuno, Usagi readied her tiara, waiting for just the right moment to fire. Mizuno used computer monitors like mirrors, making it even more confusing for the monster to locate them. The minute its hands got stuck in a computer, Usagi fired her tiara, making sure to amp the amount of energy just in case. It screeched in agony, causing Mizuno to shudder for a moment before it turned to dust. 

The students groaned, as they slowly came to on the ground. Not even waiting for Mizuno, Usagi stepped out of the room to find a phone; at this rate, she should probably look into getting her own. By the time she was done calling for medical help, Luna had filled Mizuno in on who she was now - Sailor Mercury- and how her sworn duty is to find and serve the Moon Princess. 

“The Sailor Scouts were the Princess’s most trusted guardians and friends. I remember now that there were more of you.” Luna beamed in pride, as Mizuno (or was it Sailor Mercury?) nodded in agreement. The silly fool didn’t even try to resist signing her life away to a person she had never met, just because a talking cat said so. 

“How many more?” A sensible question, Usagi thought, as Sailor Mercury seemed to be almost taking notes.

_ ‘In the middle of the room, with her barely conscious classmates…Yeahhhh we should leave.’  _ she sighed in annoyance. 

Luna slouched into herself as she quietly admitted, “...I don’t remember.” 

“Hey, as lovely as it is to know you are getting  _ some  _ of your memories back, maybe we should leave before the help arrives?” Staring incredulously at the two, Usagi gestured towards the roof exit door. 

Mizuno seemed to suddenly remember her classmates as she began to check them, frantically calling out to Usagi for help.

“We have to call for medical help!”

“Already way ahead of you. They’re on their way and should be arriving in less than 5 minutes. We need to leave, now!” She wasn’t going to lie, it felt good to have the genius Mizuno look at her in respect; heck even Luna was looking semi-proud of her. 

They just managed to get out of the building before the paramedics arrived and entered the fake cram-school.

* * *

“My name is Moonlight Knight, but I am also your classmate, Tsukino Usagi.” Depowering into her civilian self, Usagi smiled at the bewildered look on Ami’s face.

“Thank you for helping save me Usagi-san, you may call me Ami.” She smiled back, reaching out to give Usagi’s hand a shake. 

_ ‘Something about this feels familiar.’ _ Usagi wondered why that was. 

“So, are we partners then?” Ami asked, looking like she didn’t want to do this all alone. Usagi didn’t blame her. Maybe it was starting to sink in on how much she had just sacrificed in agreeing to be a Sailor Scout, without even sparing a second thought.

“For now, you two will be protecting this city from the monster attacks and looking for the princess. However, once the Princess is found, you both will have two very different roles to play.” Luna interrupted, walking in between Usagi and Ami.

“Ami-san, you are a Scout and technically Moonlight Knight’s superior.” Usagi bit her lip at that remark, glaring at the cat in annoyance. 

_ ‘Seriously Luna? I’m going to be their goffer now?’ _ Taking a discreet calming breath, Usagi at least felt better at the sheer discomfort on Ami’s face at the thought of telling her new friend and classmate what to do in something she had been doing longer than her. 

“The Scouts were the highest-ranked in the Silver Millenium, second to the advisors of the Queen. You will be expected to stand proudly before your Princess, while Moonlight Knight will guard the Princess’s back.”

_ ‘So I really am the assassin in the shadows… _ ’ Usagi wondered how her relationship with the other Scouts would develop if they are supposed to be superior to her. Luckily, it seemed that Ami-san wasn’t the type to make demands unnecessarily. But the others? Who could say?

Saying their goodbyes, Luna decided to stay over at Ami’s home, wanting to continue discussing her duties and everything she had missed. Usagi already got a promise from Ami-san to meet her at her house after school tomorrow, to get to know each other a bit better. 

Walking down the street, Usagi thought about how so much had quickly changed again.

_ ‘If they expect me to obey them just like that, then they will find another thing coming.’  _ Usagi swore, not realizing that her eyes had flashed silver and the outline of her crescent moon had appeared on her forehead.

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 8: On the Highway to Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So unfortunately because of my holidays being officially over the fast update schedule is going to slow down. Like a lot. Like maybe once every 1week to 2 weeks depending on my workload. I'll do my best to keep riding the writing drive!! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter!
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

#  On the Highway to Hell

* * *

The following days didn’t change much for Usagi. Naru came by in the mornings to help her with her hair, and they walked to school together. Though Ami had joined them during lunchtime since she wasn’t always free after school. Usagi was just glad that the new Scout was so understanding about her not wanting to blindly obey someone she had just met. 

She was beginning to enjoy strategizing new combo attacks with Ami, as well as having another person help her find a reasonably priced place for her to get better at hand to hand. Some of the martial arts classes were too expensive to ask her parents for help, especially since Usagi had noticed her parents trying to save money lately. In the meantime, they jogged twice a week at the park and did some stretches before class.

_‘I wonder if dad’s having a hard time at work?’_ Promising herself to look into it at a later time, Usagi walked with Naru to the bus stop. Naru had been feeling inspired last night, as they had to read the English fairytale “Rapunzel”. Since she had stayed over for a sleepover, Naru had decreed that they would wake up even earlier to get Usagi’s hair in a long pretzel-braid, which was then decorated with every flowery clip and pin they could find in the house. 

_‘This might be one of my favourite hairstyles,’_ Usagi beamed, as she loved how her hair now reached mid-calf instead of the ground. 

Spotting Ami holding Luna up ahead, Naru sighed in annoyance as she pushed Usagi forward. Naru didn’t like the not-cat very much, and would rather avoid her if possible. Luna’s words still haunted her at times, which irritated Usagi to no end. Naru slowed down her walking and waved over another classmate as Usagi left her behind. 

Running up, Usagi greeted Ami with a smile, before politely saying hello to Luna. 

“I didn’t know you use a bus to go to cram school. Are there no closer ones to your apartment?” Usagi asked, wondering if Ami was resting enough with long commutes and weekly training with her.

“Yes, but they’re not the _best_. If I’m going to be a good Scout, then I need to learn and educate myself as much as possible to help Luna find our Princess.” Luna beamed at Ami’s words, exclaiming how admirable she was in her dedication to their Princess.

“Unlike someone else, I know…” Usagi glared furiously at those words, fully knowing that was a dig on her still dedicating a lot of her time to Naru, a “civilian who should not be involved”, and her art, which was “something that has no merit in helping them find their princess sooner.”

“I’m not giving up my social life and hobbies! Considering how much stress our lives are filled with, I don’t think it’s a crime to want to do things that make me feel good and happy.” She hissed, completely annoyed now with the alien cat’s presumptuousness. 

“Of course there is nothing wrong with that! You just overindulge on these things and shirk your duty. Remember, you were reborn is to find and protect the Princess from the forces of evil!” 

_‘Thanks, Luna, I just love being reminded on how I have no agency in this life but to theoretically be the eternal bodyguard to some girl I’ve never met.’_ Usagi sighed, feeling too tired to try and argue with Luna right now. Plus Naru was finally catching up to them, walking along with Mai-san.

“ -it’s true! I heard it from Kaede-san, in class 2! Her brother is one of the victims!”

Exchanging a look with Ami, Usagi and her both looked at the gossiping girls getting closer. The only people worth gossiping about at their school lately had ended up being victims of monster attacks.

“Hey Naru-chan, Mai-san. What are you talking about?” Usagi smiled, flicking her braid over her shoulder. Mai tripped a bit as Naru giggled at her red face, before trying to hide it in coughs. 

“Oh, Usagi-san! Are you taking this bus route?” Mai flushed as Usagi explained that she was just waiting with Ami for the bus since she was going to cram school.

“You shouldn’t take this bus Usagi-san! The 6 PM bus is cursed!” She cried, looking thrilled at being able to tell the latest news. Usagi grew more concerned as she explained that yesterday, a bus full of passengers disappeared. Apparently it was after at the bus stop at the base of a famous shrine and where the five streets meet, where the bus would last be spotted before disappearing. 

“Kaede-san’s brother was on that bus and he’s been missing ever since! The police think it was a mass kidnapping, but no demands have been made…” Usagi tuned them out as both Ami and Naru began to theorize on what had happened while Mai claimed that the shrine had a powerful priestess. 

_‘Mom has been more worried lately when I go off on my own. The convenience store down the street should have a payphone, so I’ll let her know I’m going to get some amulets for the home.’_

As if Ami and Luna would let Usagi go home after hearing about this mystery. Honestly, just because Ami’s mother was rarely home didn’t mean _Usagi_ had such an easy way to escape her house. 

* * *

_‘I knew I should have stayed home today.’_ Usagi groaned, not wanting to open her eyes and deal with this mess. Of course, it would be her luck that the powerful and very pretty priestess living here would attack her, believing she’s an evil spirit. She really needed to get those self-defence classes soon, Usagi was already tired of being taken down by close range attacks.

“Rei-san, I brought some hand towels and water.” That voice sounded so familiar to her...She wondered where she had heard him before. Naru made a little noise of distress, causing Usagi to react.

Flinging the covers off of her, Usagi barely missed hitting the priestess as she looked around the room, wondering what could have upset Naru. Ignoring the priestess’ annoyed grouching at her for suddenly jumping out like that, Usagi saw Naru, looking as pale as a ghost. 

“Naru-chan?” Usagi reached out to grab her friend's hand as she swayed dangerously. 

“Is your friend okay?” The priestess asked, leaning closer to look at Naru. Usagi felt a little peeved to have her so close to her personal space like that, but tried to stray neutral. She had been just defending her livelihood, even if she had shot first and asked questions later. 

“You guys should eat better, being faint like this all the time won’t help your health.” She scanned them up and down before huffing dismissively, “You’re very skinny too. Honestly, dieting for guys’ attention is so shallow. Have some self-respect!”

Luna sauntered over, sitting next to the priestess and nodding with every word she was saying. 

“ _Excuse_ me?” Did Usagi say something, do something, to have this complete stranger start spouting about all of this? Honestly! And what was Luna doing? When did she ever give _anyone_ the idea she was trying to impress a guy?!

Staring at the shrine maiden’s scoldings dispassionately, Usagi tuned her out as she checked over Naru.

“It’s obvious! With your hair done so elaborately, I bet you came for love amulets right? One-sided feelings aren’t worth the hassle, so you should just take care of yourself instead of being so superficial.”

“Sure, sure. You’re right. I’ll respect myself more. Naru, are you okay?” Usagi waved the priestess off, hugging her friend as she seemed to curl into herself. She seemed to bristle behind her, as Luna sighed disparagingly. Poor Mai just looked confused as she watched them all.

“Usa-chan...I think that guy who was just here is J-Dite from Moonlight Zero.” Naru whispered as softly as she could, gripping Usagi’s sleeve as she hid her face in her friend's neck, “I know that voice, and that guy who came in had the _exact_ same one.” 

It wasn’t that long ago that Naru had seen her cuts and bruises after the fight with General Jadeite. Usagi never wanted to see her friend cry like that again, as she had blamed herself for getting caught and prompting Usagi to get hurt due to her reckless fighting. 

“Hey, miko-san. Was that guy who came in a relative or employee of yours?” Usagi asked, turning back to see her putting the towels and water away with a slam.

“Of course, you would notice the guy coming in when you were knocked out.” Raising her eyebrows at the shade thrown her way, Usagi bit her lip to keep from snarking back. 

_‘We need the info, and getting her more irritated won’t help._ ’ She repeated to herself, digging her nails into her palms. As the priestess finally gave in and started explaining how the man who worked at the amulet stand came to work and live with them, Usagi wondered if it really was General Jadeite or not. She couldn't imagine the cold-eyed General having the patience to deal with squealing teens and women for weeks on end for minimum wage. 

“Honestly, as if I didn’t have enough to worry about. My sixth sense and prophecies used to be spot on, but lately, they’ve been off.” 

Luna seemed to perk up at the priestess’s reveal of powers, and Usagi darkly wondered if she was gonna say that this girl was a monster in disguise too.

Unfortunately, a woman burst in and drama happened as the priestess and she got into an argument on who was responsible for the disappearance of the people on the 6’oclock bus. Usagi and the girls left shortly after the fight, as the priestess had to do some prayers and was done with the company.

* * *

 _‘In the end, we got more questions than answers.’_ Usagi sighed as she got ready for bed, glad to be alone tonight. The young man had left to take his dinner break, and the priestess and head priest were too busy to get any answers out of them. Luna had harassed Usagi till she had called Ami at her school to come after her cram class and investigate with her, but all _that_ had done is prove that Luna and Ami did not understand that Usagi could not stay out so late investigating. Her family would notice if she was gone, and they would worry. Especially if she didn’t have a good excuse for being out! 

But Usagi had been horrified that they both had wanted to board the bus with no plan, no fail-safes in case one or all of them got knocked out, and with no way to notify their families should they disappear!

_‘And it had! The bus just freaking flew into a huge hole in the air!’_ Sitting in front of her vanity, Usagi stared at the crescent moon that had appeared during her inner rant. Cursing at the inconvenience of having an extremely visible stress sign, she applied some foundation and made sure her bangs were covering that area well. 

‘ _Maybe it’s selfish, but I didn’t want to be a superhero. Why should I have to sacrifice my family time, just so that_ **_they_ ** _can do things with terrible planning?’_ Usagi mentally cried, pulling out her pins and quickly unravelling her braids.

“Honey are you okay?” Her mom walked in with a concerned look as she gently took her brush and started to brush out her hair. Usagi wondered if she hadn’t been resting well; there were bags under her eyes and her face was a little pale. 

“I’m okay, Mom. Just frustrated with some classmates, that's all.” Usagi wished she could talk to her about it, but how would she even start?

“I just worry, with the sudden rise in monster attacks and with how many people have been going missing, I don’t want you staying out too late for a while.” Ikuko was a good mom, and Usagi didn’t blame her for worrying when things weren’t as safe anymore. Her mom placed the brush back on the vanity as she braided her hair back into a bun.

“Usa-chan, Shin-chan is going to be staying later at an afterschool program and Papa will be taking some extra shifts in the upcoming weeks. Do you think you’ll be able to help me make some more sweets to sell tomorrow?” Her mom was active in the community. but she normally didn’t participate in so many bake sales all of a sudden.

“Is there another bake sale happening?” Usagi asked, wondering if she had forgotten a school event or a special holiday.

“No, I’m taking some orders from the local housewives who like my treats.” 

_‘So I was right. We are tight on cash. But why are we?_ ’ Usagi closed her eyes as she tried to figure out when it started, and why could it have happened.

“...Is there something wrong financially Mama?” Her mom smiled cheerfully, though Usagi wondered if that was a true smile or just one to hide her stress. Staring at her face, Usagi noticed that besides the bags under her eyes, her mom had put on a little weight. Not a lot, but it was starting to show around her face.

“Papa and I are just preparing that’s all. If all goes well, I'll tell you and Shin-chan soon. So don’t worry, okay Usa-chan?” Her mom gave her a kiss on the forehead before leaving her to sleep.

_‘Looks like I’ll have to let Ami and Luna do the questioning tomorrow. I won’t disappoint my mom for them.’_ She vowed, closing her eyes to try and rest. 

* * *

“-we’ll just let the layer sit for 30 minutes. In the meantime, Usa-chan, get the strawberry puree and mix well with the whipping cream. Next, add the leaf gelatine and continue mixing. This is gonna be the final layer of our cheesecake. I’m going to just wash the strawberries and start cutting them for the top.”

Usagi stirred as she smiled at her mom. She was glad she had bailed on going back to the shrine. At this rate, she and her mom would be finished before 5’oclock. 

“Usa-chan! Don’t forget to take a cheesecake to Mayumi-san’s place as a thank you for staying over.” Usagi tried to feel less guilty as she packed up the cake and letter. Technically, she _was_ staying over Naru’s and she would be giving the cake to Osaka-san. Technically.

_‘Sorry Mom, but I’m afraid I’m really going to be sneaking out from Naru’s place instead of here.’_ Luna had been adamant that she arrive in time to deal with the 6’oclock bus. Especially since Ami would be interrogating the priestess and her grandfather in her stead. She hadn't been too happy to skip cram school, but Usagi refused to be the one always sacrificing her time for this gig. They either took turns, or things would get ugly fast. 

Her mom suddenly placed her knife down as she rushed to the bathroom. Usagi could hear her mom throwing up, prompting her to get some ginger ale from the fridge. Luckily Ikuko had kept the habit of using ginger ale, instead of herbal tablets, from her American mother.

“Mama?” 

“Don’t worry Usa-chan. Mama is fine.” Ikuko washed up her face and gratefully drank her ginger ale, “Run along and get ready to go to Mayumi-san’s house. I’ll finish this cake okay?” 

Giving her mom a hug, Usagi decided not to argue too much today. If only she didn’t have to go sleuthing! Then she could have tried to get the answers out of her tight-lipped mother! 

Damn these monster attacks.

Styling some long light brown extensions into her double dutch pigtails, Usagi put on some dark blue workout tights, her pastel pink spaghetti top, and her long sleeves cropped button-up white sweater. Dressed like this, along with a little bit of lipgloss and her runners, and Usagi could pass as a few years older. Perfect for not letting the enemy know she’s a student. The last thing she needed was those monsters actually targeting the schools directly to take her out.

Grabbing her bag filled with her homework and uniform, she hoped Osaka-san would be too busy tonight, so Naru wouldn’t have to work too hard to help her not get caught.

* * *

“Luna, where’s Ami-san?” Jogging up to the bus stop, Usagi noticed that there was another huge group of highschool girls waiting for the bus. Were those amulets really worth the danger of disappearing? 

“Usagi-san! You’re late. Ami went back to talk to the priest again. It seems Rei-san has disappeared.”

There was something peculiar about seeing such a human expression on an animal. Every now and then she would get a little creeped out at the sight.

“...Who?” Luna looked like she had expected Usagi to just know this random person. 

“Hino Rei-san! The miko of the shrine, honestly, didn’t you pay attention yesterday?” Raising her eyebrows at the judgy cat, Usagi decided to hold her tongue and remind her that she had been a little busy with being knocked out by said priestess. 

“I was knocked out by her, and then had a brief talk before she kicked us out of her rooms.If she introduced herself between those two moments then obviously I didn’t hear it.” Huffing primly, Luna turned to keep an eye on the girls waiting at the bus stop, missing Usagi’s annoyed look completely. 

“Yet you still heard the man’s voice when he came in. Honestly Usagi-san, you have to get your priorities in order.” She rebuked, seeming to be extra prissy than usual levels. Usagi irritatedly wondered what had gotten her whiskers in a twist. 

“Look at you all dressed up! Are you trying to look nice for the General?” Staring blankly at the stupidity of that remark, Usagi vaguely realized that she should have used the disguise pen instead of dressing up.

_‘I can’t believe I forgot!’_ She mentally face-palmed in annoyance. Sighing lowly in annoyance Usagi noticed Luna was _still_ talking.

“I know he’s handsome, but he is the _enemy_ !” Raising an eyebrow at the remark, she wondered where the hell had this alien cat had gotten the idea that she liked the asshole who _nearly_ got Naru killed. 

_‘Did she just forget that I literally got my ass beat because I wanted to stab the mother-’_ The honk of a passing car made Usagi snort at the ridiculous conversation happening. Luna seemed to perk up as the number 66 bus came into sight.

“The bus is coming! Get on!” Staring at her in bewilderment, dread-filled her body as she realized that Usagi was literally was going to be placed on the bus without a plan.

“But what about Ami-san? We can’t just charge in blindly-” The blasted alien actually scratched her, shoving her with her head to get in line and on the bus.

“There’s no time! Stop being such a coward Usagi-san! Face your fears and this foe!” What kind of self-righteous, delusional **_bullshit_ **had this thing been listening to?! All she was succeeding in doing was getting Usagi more and more upset at all this! 

“Who the hell mentioned being a cow-” Usagi tripped as Luna pulled her laces, causing her to face plant into the bus stairs. Hearing them lock behind her, Usagi slowly stood up as the woman driving gave her one of the coldest smiles she had ever seen, eyes gleaming with hunger under her hat. The bus shook as it took flight, throwing her into a nearby seat as the woman laughed, driving into a black hole. Usagi whimpered as a disgusting sensation washed over her body. Like sewage water seeping into her clothes, it reeked and disgusted her to the core.

Panting against the handle pole, Usagi stared fearfully up as the woman warped into a monster. It was in this moment that Usagi knew she had fucked up in thinking, even if it was for a second, that alien cat had _ever_ had her best interests at heart.

She wasn’t the Princess or a Scout. Just some expendable Moonlight Knight.


	10. Chapter 9: Hot Wheels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo Surprise! This chapter got finished early! you guys really motivated me into posting ahead of schedule lol! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

# Hot Wheels 

* * *

Ami sighed in frustration, as she had hit another dead end. No one had been able to figure out exactly what time Hino Rei had disappeared from the temple. Rubbing her forehead, Ami hoped that Usagi was on her way; she really didn’t want to deal with this mystery by herself tonight. 

_‘Speaking of Usagi-san, I wonder if I should talk to her about her crush on the enemy.’_ Luna had told her all about it last night, ranting and raving on how inappropriate it was for a Knight to have feelings for an enemy General. 

Apparently Naru and Mai had been gossiping while Usagi was knocked out about how she had been very impressed by J-Dite’s voice and manner when Moonlight Zero had been running, which was a rare compliment from the blonde. Mai had even asked Naru if Usagi had a crush on him, which had caused Naru to laugh loudly. Luna had said no further words were needed, clearly, that was admission enough that Usagi might fraternize with the enemy if they didn’t get her under control.

_‘Luna was so loud during her complaining, I thought for sure the neighbours would discover her.’_ Ami hoped this situation with Usagi would be dealt with soon. She just hated conflict among a group, it was precisely why she preferred working alone in school. Groups just made things very uncomfortable if everyone wasn’t on the same page. 

Shaking away her negative thoughts, Ami gripped her hands as she looked up in determination. 

_‘I shouldn’t be thinking so negatively. Usagi-san and Luna just need to sit down and have a civil conversation. Once Usagi-san sees the error of her ways, things will calm down and we can focus on trying to find the Princess.’_

Checking on the time, Ami gave a little cry of horror as she saw how late it had gotten. Dashing down the temple stairs, she quickly ran to the bus stop. Gaping at the sight of the bus disappearing through the black vortex, Ami collapsed to the ground in frustration and exhaustion. 

_‘I’m too late.’_

A soft groan came from behind the bus stop, as a black lump laid in pain on the ground. 

“Luna..?” 

The poor cat was whimpering as she clutched her forehead in pain. Little drops of blood escaped from her paws as she slowly stood back up. Ami strained to hear her as the cat was clearly muttering something. 

“Usagi-san...She managed to get on the bus but…” Her voice was a bit slurred as she shook her head, worrying Ami even more as she didn’t know if the poor advisor had a concussion or not.

“Luna! Do we need to go to a doctor for you?” If Luna was out for the count, then they were in big trouble. She didn’t have Usagi’s confidence, nor Luna’s wisdom and knowledge of the enemy. She had only been a Scout for a little while! 

“I’ll be fine. The doors slammed into my face when I tried to get on. Never mind me! We have to rescue Usagi-san!”

“Right!” Usagi was in trouble and needed their help! As a Scout, she couldn’t let her down!

* * *

Laying on the cold bus floor, Usagi was so glad that she had taken those acting courses with Naru during the summer. Pretending to faint and just roll limply to the pile of young women, had seemed to satisfy the monster into thinking she had been drained. 

_‘I could have done without being kicked and laughed at though.’_

Its creepy laughter would haunt her nightmares for a while, she was sure. Pulling out her brooch, she whispered the transformation phase, sighing in relief at being back in her uniform. The negative energy that seemed to have tried to drain her like the others was immediately repelled, allowing for her to breathe easier again. Sneaking to the window, Usagi nearly had a panic attack as she saw that buses were floating above some strange sandy ground with stars and strange swirls in between them.

_‘Oh lord, how the hell am I going to save all these people on my own?! Damn it, Luna! This is why we plan things! So shit like this can be solved!’_ Miming strangling something between her hands, she silently screamed in frustration before groaning under her breath. ‘

_‘Okay, think Usagi think! First things first, I need to find the exit to this place.’_ Sighing in frustration, she peeked around outside the window. It seemed that this place was completely abandoned. Opening the bus door just a smidge, she wiggled out and jumped to the strange sandy ground below. 

Lying half-buried near her landing spot, was a long dark-haired figure. Making her way carefully to the person, Usagi started to run as she realized it was that priestess from before, Hino Rei!

“Miko-san? Miko-san!” Shaking her shoulder carefully, Usagi wondered why she was separated from the other victims like this. Is this what was going to happen to the rest? Be dragged out one by one and then buried in this weird sand place?!

“Ughh, what happened? ...W-who are you?” 

Oh, praised be, she wasn’t dead! Sighing in relief, Usagi helped her get out of the sand and slowly come to a stand. 

“My name is Moonlight Knight, but enough about that. How did you get here? Were you on one of the buses?” 

Did this girl pull a Luna and board one without telling anyone or having a solid plan and back up plan ready?

“No, I found out that the guy who works at our temple was behind all this. He’s the one who's been causing problems for my family!”

Usagi weakly smiled as the priestess broke into a rant of how much she wanted to beat that guy up. 

_‘Isn’t the fact that you ended up here proof that he kicked your butt?’_ Usagi thought, keeping mum on how stupid this girl’s plan had sounded to her. She’ll get along well with Luna with this sort of attitude. She could already see them both making up thoughtless on-the-fly plans, if she could even call them that. 

“So, you confronted him and he threw you in here?”

“Yeah, he was much stronger than I had expected. Of course, if he had fought fairly instead of pulling a cheap move like that, I could have dealt with him!”

_‘...Villains don’t fight fair...It’s not like they need to worry about having a nice, honourable reputation. .’_

God, this way of thinking made Usagi feel tired. Did no one appreciate a good sneak attack anymore? Why be so direct when you can deal with this shit quickly and efficiently?

“Anyway, we have got to get out of here. Who knows what that villain could be doing to my grandfather!” Usagi nodded as they both began to look around and explore the place. There wasn’t much to see, just sand and floating buses in the air. Looking straight above them, Usagi gave a small gasp as she saw the black vortex warping above the buses. 

“There! That must be the exit!” 

Looking over her shoulder, Usagi stared as the priestess seemed to be praying, as she muttered something under her breath.

_‘Didn’t she say she was pretty good at predictions and prophecies…?’_ Deciding to leave her be, Usagi fiddled with her belt, trying to see if she had anything in one of the pockets beside her knives. A long coil of chains was somehow squished into her pockets, perfect for tying to her crescent knives. Throwing one of the knives towards the bus, Usagi cheered as it caught the handle of the door and seemed to wrap itself securely. Climbing up to the bus, she looked inside and wondered if she had a special attack or technique that could help her.

_‘Come on memories and weird energy! If you’re going to force me to go down this path than at least help me!’_ Squeezing her eyes shut, Usagi tried to force whatever it was inside of her to activate. 

_“Just work already!”_

* * *

_A young girl with blond-haired bun pigtails, in a white dress, was running away from another black-haired girl. She had a crescent moon on her forehead and there were tears running down her face as she screamed over her shoulder that-_

_“-Just you wait! My_ **_moonlight net_ ** _will be useful one day! It’s not a silly trick so you take that back right-”_

_Staring at the frustrated looking raven-haired girl, Usagi wondered why she looked so much like Hino Rei... Even if she was in a weird British Regency style dress._

* * *

Grinning wildly as she opened her eyes, Usagi nearly cheered as the strange energy seemed to work in her favour.

Taking a step forward she collapsed to her knees as other images started to pour in, less controlled and more intense in sensation. 

Flashes of women in British Regency dresses, in varying forms of pastels, each one either scolding or helping her passed through her mind. Mingled with these images were others with darker-skinned women and men strumming guitars and dancing in heels, as they whirled their long skirts about in a sexy manner. 

Laughter and song soon gave way to screams, as once more the Regency dressed women seemed to be in distress as the palace around them was destroyed piece by piece.

_‘Oh, please make it stop, I can’t afford to do this now..’_ Usagi grit her teeth in agony, as the torment seemed to build before ebbing away slowly. 

Standing up, she swayed dangerously as her transformation seemed to flicker before stabilizing itself. 

_‘Ok. That was too much energy,_ ’ she thought, whipping away the sweat from her brow as she readied herself, _‘Now I know for next time.’_

Spreading out her hands, facing towards the other two buses, Usagi whispered under her breath, “Moonlight Net!”

Beams of light in the shape of a net reached out and trapped the two other buses in its clutches. Carefully pulling them in, Usagi spent the next half an hour trying to tie each bus from bumper to front. 

Looking down, Usagi noticed Hino Rei was still meditating down below.

A flash of dark energy manifested behind the girl, as the monster returned, looking more furious than ever as it advanced on the crouched priestess. 

Throwing her crescent beams, Usagi sighed in relief as the priestess started to run from the things attempts to snatch her. Preparing her tiara, she noticed the priestess seemed to be clutching something between her hands.

_‘I wonder what she found?’_ Refocusing on the monster, Usagi chucked her tiara, praying that it was strong enough to deal with her. For a moment the monster began to burn as it caught the tiara with its hands, but the dark energy healed her wounds as quickly as she was making them. 

Cursing up a storm as it began to laugh, Usagi quickly flicked her wrist, changing her tiara into a lasso as it bound the monster’s hands to its body.

While she struggled to keep it constrained, a huge spiral of fire erupted from the priestess's body as a familiar light began to glow from her. 

“Oh no...Don’t tell me she’s…”

A Sailor Scout with red heels and a red outfit replaced the burning priestess. From up here, Usagi could tell that she was a bit confused by the sudden wardrobe change, but soon enough she blasted the tied down the monster with a flame attack. 

The world around them began to rumble as the monster was burnt to a crisp, and the vortex above began to shrink. Throwing her chain at Rei, Usagi wondered why the monster hadn’t become dust like when she kills them? Instead, it seemed to shrink into a, still burnt, but younger female form. 

Feeling uncomfortable at the sight, Usagi turned her focus back onto Rei as the new Scoutclimbed onto the bus and began screaming for her to get a move on.

“Can you drive?!” Usagi shouted back, not feeling too tolerant of everything that had just happened. For one blissful moment, Rei was shocked into silence, as she fiddled with the buttons and turned on the bus.

“What?! No! Of course not.”

“Well then, don’t rush me as I try and figure out how to move this thing okay?!” If there was one thing Usagi remembered clearly hating, it was backseat driving. Oh, the nagging, complaints, and the constant remarks on how lacking she was, it all just infuriated her something fierce. 

“Figure it out faster, I don’t want to die because you couldn’t drive this thing out in time!” It seemed Rei was one of those kinds of people who had to have the last word. The following weeks were going to be a trial for Usagi, she could already tell. 

Ami must have been doing something on the other side, as a blue beam of light seemed to keep the portal big enough for Usagi to shakily drive the bus through it.

There, crying with tears of happiness was a transformed Ami, who had dropped her mini laptop in glee, and was crying out Usagi’s title as she raced over.

“Moonlight Knight! You’re okay!”

“Sailor Mercury,” Giving Ami a quick hug, Usagi quickly schooled her expression as she pulled back, “You’re late.”

“Sorry, I am so sorry, I never meant for you to get trapped by yourself-” Apologies stuttering to a stop, Usagi wondered what Ami was feeling as she stared at Sailor Mars, who was standing awkwardly by the door. 

“So! It’s just as I thought, you were Sailor Mars!” Luna preened as she flounced into the bus, completely ignoring Usagi as she welcomed the new Scout to the group. Releasing her Moonlight Net, she wondered darkly if it was bad manners to just leave.

_‘Then again, how much do I really care about having manners around this motley crew?’_ She thought ruefully. 

Still feeling irritated and betrayed by Luna’s abandonment from earlier, Usagi decided to just leave. The three of them were too absorbed in their conversation to notice, as they chatted and smiled at each other without a care in the world.

De-transforming in a nearby alley, Usagi used her disguise pen to appear like an average, short brown-haired, night-time jogger. A perfect way to escape Luna and the others while also confusing the enemy, should they be watching.

Jogging down the street, it seemed to hit Usagi all at once on how she could have died today because of the cat’s stupid plans.

_‘More like lack of them.’_ She snorted as the adrenaline dropped, revealing the aches and pains she had been ignoring earlier. 

Coming to a stop, she leaned to the side as her body began to cramp up from the strenuous exercise she had done with no warm-up, plus the freaking energy frying her nerves again, not to mention the monster kicking her in glee as she played dead. 

Slumping against a telephone pole, Usagi faintly wondered if she would even make it back to Naru’s. Closing her eyes weakly, she tried to regain control of her breath as her energy seemed to abandon her. Pushing herself forward, Usagi stumbled as she weakly reached out a hand towards Naru’s home, just in sight. 

_‘Naru…’_ She thought weakly before passing out in exhaustion. Strong arms caught her by the waist before she was lifted and carried off into the night.


	11. Chapter 10: Luna Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! A double Update this week! SO this is a real doozy of a chapter with a lot of things happening and developing! I hope you guys enjoy as canon keeps getting yeeted out the window.
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

# Luna Knows Best 

* * *

Breathing slow, calming breaths, Naru gripped Usagi's bag as she made her way to school. Looking at her reflection in a nearby window, Naru wondered if she should stop by to buy more concealer for the bags under her eyes. Sleepless nights, panic attacks at the thought that something had happened to her friend, plus constant lying to her Okaa-san couldn't be good for her health.

' _Yet, I would do this and more if it meant Usa-chan wouldn't cut me from her life as that alien wants.'_ Slapping her cheeks in determination, Naru continued on her way to school, praying that her friend would be there by the time the class starts. Stopping to make sure she had the three bento boxes she had made for Usagi, she wondered if her mother would notice that she had taken so many. Luckily, her mother had passed out from a late-night working and wouldn't be up till later today, giving Naru more time to clean and sneak them back into place.

' _Usa-chan really should be eating more,'_ She mused, ' _What with all the exercise she is doing, I'm sure she must be burning calories like crazy. I wonder if sensei has any books she can recommend what kind of diet an active athlete should be having to stay healthy?'_

Stopping at the stoplight, Naru frowned as she noticed the alien cat walking down the street so casually. She hoped its casual stroll meant Usagi was okay and that she had nothing to worry about, even if the fact that Usagi never came back to her house was making her freak something fierce.

An awkward pause filled the air as the alien and human caught each other's eye, neither knowing if they should acknowledge the other or not. Squaring her shoulders, Naru gave a polite nod of her head as she decided to be the bigger person.

"Good morning Luna." Naru forced a smile on her face as the cat tilted its head to the side in curiosity.

"Good morning Osaka-san," she replied back, "I'm glad we met like this."

"You are?" What on earth could the alien be happy about? Naru thought that they both shared a mutual dislike of each other, and had silently agreed to just not interact as much as possible.

"Oh yes, I was hoping to speak to you about distancing yourself from Usagi-san. The enemy has been getting more-" Not this stupid conversation again, Naru groaned silently. Hadn't she made herself perfectly clear when she was smacking her with the pillow all those weeks ago?

"No! I won't! How many times do I have to tell you that-" The alien raised her voice as she interrupted Naru, taking a step forward as she tried to make her point in the most condescending way possible.

"You are completely defenceless against an enemy attack, you have no particular skills in fighting and with your knowledge of who Usagi-san and the Ami-chan are, you are also a threat to the whole operation-" On and on Luna lectured and scolded Naru.

What she hated most about Luna was how she seemed to know how to target Naru's doubts regarding her relationship with her best friend; through the superhero angle. Did she think Naru was stupid and hadn't realized how much she could be used against her friend? That she didn't doubt that being by her side endangered Usa-chan?

Closing her eyes, Naru thought back to the day she found Usagi covered in bruises because she had gotten hurt by that General's flower brooch.

* * *

" _Don't cry Na-chan. I promise I'll be more careful next time."_

" _How can I not? Usa-chan you got hurt because of me!"_

" _You are my best friend. My sister in all but blood, the one constant since I was four years old. I_ _ **need**_ _you in my life. Luna doesn't support me and I need someone who knows and understands my position."_

_Feeling gentle hands raise her face, Naru sobbed as Usagi gave her a heartbreaking grin._

" _ **You**_ _are that someone. So please, don't leave me to my 'fate'; I need you to remind me who I am."_

" _...' kay. I promise I won't go."_

" _Thank you Na-chan."_

* * *

Clenching her hands into fists, Naru opened her eyes as she glared at Luna, taking a menacing step forward and prepared her bag to smack her if she continued talking such shit.

"I am the support Usa-chan needs! I am the one in her corner when you criticize her for loving her family and friends! I am not a-"

"Distraction? Yes, yes you are. She should be focused on training more for her Princess, on her hand to hand fighting, and most importantly on how to fight to the Scouts' command. As her superiors, it is imperative that she learn how to support them in combat." Huffing primly, Luna jumped onto a nearby fence and began to groom herself.

"Think about what I said Osaka-san. After all, this isn't about you or Usagi-san, this is about the good of the planet and her future Queen."

Naru gazed hatefully as the cat seemed to disappear as she made her way around the corner.

"..." Dropping her bags, Naru wrung her hands as she imagined strangling a certain cat's neck. If only they weren't in public, she'd show her a thing or two about talking to Osaka Naru like that!

' _That bitch! The next time I see her, no mercy! I'll smack her so hard with my bag she'll learn not to mess with me!'_ Turning on her heel, Naru bolted towards the school, ' _I hope Usa-chan is there!'_

Making her way into her classroom, she put Usagi's bag under her chair, before sitting behind her. Naru would show them that she deserved to stay by her best friend's side.

' _I'll show them all! I am what Usa-chan needs, especially since they clearly just don't get her at all.'_

* * *

Moaning in pain, Usagi turned to bury her face into the soft pillow next to her. The sun's rays bothered her as she tried to find a more comfortable spot.

' _Ughhh, I thought Naru had closed the blinds last night…'_ she thought drowsily, clearly not being able to stay asleep, no matter how much she wanted too. Burying her nose into the pillow, Usagi wondered if she could skip school today and just stay in bed.

' _I must look terrible anyway,_ ' She thought, running her hands through her hair and stopping short at the base of her neck. Her hand grasped air, as she realized her hair only reached her chin.

' _Whaa…?'_ Did she forget to de-transform last night? ' _But that's not right...Why would I still be in disguise?'_

Dread and alarm settled at the bottom of her stomach as she noticed her pillow smelled of musk and a bit of spice. Taking an even deeper breath, a slight hint of roses seemed to undertone the whole thing.

' _...Naru's sheets always smell of lavender._ ' Freezing at the thought, Usagi gulped as she slowly realized, she wasn't in Naru's bed. Swallowing a cry, she cracked open an eye, hoping that no one else was in the room with her. The room had a clean, crisp look, with a simple colour palette and was accented with metal and glass decor. A solid oak dresser in a modern design with a marble top held her brooch and pen. Her jogging jacket was folded nicely beside them, along with her socks and shoes on the floor by the door. A rose, thornless and a perfect red colour lay innocently on her jacket.

Grasping the bedsheets, Usagi peered in fear at herself and seemed to deflate in relief that she was still wearing her jogging pants and a tank top.

' _Praise be! It looks like nothing untoward happened...Though why am I here and not at a hospital?'_ Typically, if someone had found a young woman collapsed on the ground their first response would be to take her to the hospital no?

' _Unless…'_ Did this person see her change from Moonlight Knight to unsuspecting jogger?

Sliding out of the bed, she quickly snatched up her brooch and pen. Picking up the flower, Usagi was surprised to note how strong and heavy it felt in her hand. It refused to bend or break no matter how much pressure she applied to the stem.

' _What?'_ This couldn't be normal. Slipping on her socks and shoes, she peered out the door to see if anyone else was here with her?

A beautiful if cold looking apartment lay on the other side of the door, revealing very little about her mysterious helper. Spotting a vase of roses on the dining table, Usagi was struck at how perfect each one looked. She had never seen an entire bouquet where every flower was perfect, let alone an entire rose bouquet.

The image of a man in a top hat in a tux flashed in her mind as part of her wondered if maybe, just maybe, this was where _he_ lived.

' _...Was it him?'_ Looking at the time, Usagi nearly had a panic attack when she realized how late she was for school! Putting on her jacket, she vaguely noted a slight weight in one of the pockets. Deciding to think about the mystery of this man later, she ran to the balcony and transformed into Moonlight Knight.

Jumping from the building, she quickly hopped from roof to roof as she tried to reach her school on time. Landing on her school roof, she quickly used her disguise pen to get a spare uniform for the day.

The bell rang as she slid into the room, causing her classmates to burst into laughter as Sakurada- sensei scolded her for nearly being late. Beaming at a relieved looking Naru, Usagi sat down as she saw her bag under her chair. She really did have the best friend in the world, she thought, feeling so happy that she had someone like Naru to support her during this period of her life.

Turning to page 394 in her English book, Usagi began to read along as her sensei started her lecture.

* * *

Usagi had barely a moment to thank Naru for her help before Ami came along asking Usagi to meet them at Hino Rei's temple that weekend for their Scout meeting.

"Luna-san says we should also start training together so we don't get in each other's way during a fight." Ami seemed to sparkle at the thought of spending more time with them, causing Usagi to feel a smidge of pity at how lonely her classmate must have been to enjoy putting her life in danger for a chance of friendship.

"How goes your search for a less expensive martial arts class?" Wincing as Usagi thought on how expensive everything was in Tokyo, she worried that she would never find a way to improve her close-range combat skills.

"Slow going, the prices are still higher than I would like, plus, all of them require parental signatures on the waivers. I don't think I can ask my parents for help in getting into these classes ."

"Why not? Isn't your family well off Usagi-san?" Naru seemed to bristle at the remark, offended on Usagi's behalf no doubt. She had been oddly silent during the whole exchange, refusing to do anything but nod in greeting.

' _Did Na-chan have a fight with Ami-san?_ ' Snapping back towards Ami's expectant face, Usgai wondered how to word this carefully. She had no desire to expose her family's financial state, especially not to someone who would undoubtedly report everything to Luna.

"We do live in a very nice neighbourhood, but due to some personal issues I don't think we have as much money to burn as others might think at first glance."

"Usagi-san, have you thought of getting a part-time job? You need to learn these skills soon. Luna said that the last time you got into a close-range fight you were beaten quite easily. We can't have each other give the enemy a chance to make a hostage out of us."

"Hey! She's doing the best she can Mizuno-san. Not everyone has a rich mother to give us everything we want!" Naru snapped, startling Usagi and Ami with the level of bite in her tone.

Ami gave her a hurt look at the last remark, before wiping all emotion from her face.

"I don't think an outsider should be so critical. You have no idea the level of damage these monsters can do to innocent people-"

Usagi winced at the remark, she hadn't realized how ignorant Ami was of the first attacks. Naru seemed to snap as she cut off Ami in a deceptively low voice, which grew louder with every word she spat.

"Excuse me? **I** have no idea?! Did your precious alien cat not tell you that **my** okaa-san, was one, if not the first, victim of these monsters? That they had **beaten** her up and locked her away to **starve** in our basement as that thing tried to fool everyone? Did she tell you how I **would have** been attacked if it wasn't for Tsukino-san taking me in? Or how Usagi's otou-san was nearly **strangled** to death by that thing!?" Usagi stared mesmerized as Naru's face grew redder, as she stalked closer to the other girl, spitting and snarling each word out into Ami's face.

"Who the hell do you think you are, passing judgement on what I have been through like that?!"

Ami seemed to gain back her confidence at that line, as she squared her shoulders and raised her chin in defiance.

"I am Sailor Mercury, Sailor Scout to the Princess of the Silver Millenium and Protector of the Earth. It is the duty of the Scouts and the Moonlight Knights to protect this place from the enemy. Considering you live here too, you should be pushing Usagi-san to get better; not helping her hold herself back."

Ami must have been taking lessons from Luna for she hesitated for a second before seeming to dismiss Naru from her mind. Looking meaningfully at Usagi, Ami gave Naru one last look before walking away to the bus stop.

"...I know they can be a pain on how pushy they are, but you seemed especially vicious today Naru. Did Ami-san say something before today?" Usagi knew Ami could be a little insensitive at times but Naru had been in a bad mood even before her little blow-up.

"Sometimes I just don't know how you can stand them Usagi! I've never seen you bite your tongue so often before!"

Naru had a point, the old her didn't like it when people told her how she should be and had no shame in making her opinion known. Life was too short to be around people who upset her so if Usagi didn't like them she would just remove them from her life as much as possible.

"...I know. Normally I'd be cutting them into shreds, ne?" Usagi sighed in exhaustion as she raked her hands through her hair. A simple high ponytail was her hairstyle today since Naru wasn't there to help her in the morning.

"I hold my tongue because, _technically_ , they're not wrong...if you just look at the world in a purely logical way, and ignore the fact that this isn't the past anymore and that way of thinking doesn't work in this day and age. Not long term anyway." Slumping her head on Naru's shoulder, Usagi tried to absorb her friend's strength.

"Sometimes it feels like I'd just be wasting my breath trying to explain reality to them...and I just _hate_ it."

"...You could just tell them no. Usagi, I know you want to protect us and everything but how are you going to do that when you are running yourself to the ground?" Her friend whispered, seeming to understand without words on how god damn tired Usagi was.

"You have to argue with them just so you can still have time for yourself, plus you've lost so much weight since you started doing this." Naru gripped Usagi's waist as she looked at her desperately. "You have to eat more, or else you'll hurt yourself like this."

"I can't ask my parents for more food Naru, they're trying to save up money. Besides, how am I going to explain to them why I need to eat more when I'm not part of a club and supposedly only hang out with you or stay at home after school?" She hated how her family time had been cut so abruptly, Usagi knew her brother had been a little hurt at her not playing as much with him anymore. Not to mention how her mom keeps looking at her with worry as Usagi stays out later and later with little explanations as to why.

"So cut down your time with that cat and Ami-san. Just tell them you're not a Scout so you should have a different schedule or something. Please Usa-chan. You have to take a break." Naru's eyes watered as she just flopped into her friend's embrace, muffling her tears as Usagi shook her head sadly.

"No Naru...So long as you and my family are in danger, I really, really **can't**."

She wistfully mused.' _Oh, the things I do for the ones I love,'_ They were worth all of the headaches and wounds she received. They had to be.

Naru seemed to growl quietly, before whipping her face away from Usagi's shoulder, glaring at her friend with all of her might.

"Well, so long as I see them treating you like that I will never stop arguing with them. I know you feel like you have to protect me from all of this, but don't you forget I can protect you too. Maybe not with magic powers or anything fancy like that, but I can with my words. I can with my love, you are my best friend Usagi, and the closest thing I have to a sister. I will never let this destiny break up our family you hear me?"

Tears escaped the corner of her eyes, as Naru gave Usagi a side hug. She really was so very blessed to have her in this life.

"..Thank you."

* * *

Grooming her head, Luna beamed as she watched Rei and Ami bond over homework and the different responsibilities they had around the household. This is what she wanted to see, her girls working together and supporting each other, she thought as they exchanged tips and laughed over some of their more memorable mistakes.

' _Scouts really were the best of the best. The Queen was right to make them the Princess's guardians. The Moonlight Knights just wouldn't be enough for the young heir.'_ Especially if they were anything like Usagi.

Now, Luna could admit that the girl was a hard worker at school and a dutiful daughter to her parents. She was friendly and a peer leader, even if she wasn't as athletic as Luna would like. Regardless of her physical state, she had managed to hold on her own quite nicely till the Scouts appeared. However…

Sighing loudly, Luna laid elegantly on her side as she thought of her problem child.

' _She just refuses to listen to perfectly good advice. Why can't she see that I say those things because I want her to succeed in achieving her full potential?'_ Groaning at the thought of having to deal with Usagi, she promised herself that she would be even more firm on getting that civilian girl, Naru away from her Knight. That child was a bad influence who promoted the worst kind of behaviour in Usagi. Luna, Ami and Rei had been ignored by the two all week, with the Knight dressing up even more wildly than usual.

' _A Knight shouldn't dress like that in public, I'll have to make a note to also get her to wear something more becoming, as someone who is to represent the Princesses.'_ Luna seemed to deflate as she wondered why couldn't Usagi be more like the other two girls. Their outfits were modest and fashionable, the image of beauty and elegance.

' _And that hair! Every day she has a different style! Honestly, does that girl want to stand out so much?'_ Attention seeking habits should be nipped in the bud as soon as possible. Extreme measures might have to be taken depending on how Usagi behaves when she arrives. If she continues to act so unruly, Luna will just have to make an example of her.

' _A soldier should be punished in front of others, so all can learn from their mistakes.'_ Luna thought, vaguely recalling how the Moonlight Knights would have been punished by the Scouts if they had erred. Unfortunately, Usagi was awoken first and had the most experience, causing her arrogance to spike. That child just won't listen if one of the girls try and outright point out her flaws, so it'll be up to Luna get the message across.

' _What do humans call this nowadays?_ ' Humming softly, she turned her face towards the warmth of the sunbeams pouring from the nearby window.

' _Ah yes, now I remember. An intervention.'_ That was exactly what that Knight needed. Luna couldn't remember clearly, but she just _knew_ that their Silver Millennium had fallen because of an ill-fated infatuation. She couldn't remember **who** it was that had weakened them, but she did know this was the reason.

' _The past must not be repeated! The girls have to be able to stay strong in the face of that General's good looks." Rolling_ over, she wondered if she should bring up that tidbit? Or was that telling them too much?

"Luna? Are you okay?" Ami peered over the table as both she and Rei looked upon her with concern.

' _What good girls!'_ she smiled at them, hopping onto the table and looking upon them with pride.

"I'm fine. Ahem, now as you two know, today we will have to address Usagi-san's inappropriate infatuation, along with other flaws that might endanger us. So far it looks harmless, but if she refuses to desist her affections I'm afraid we will have to go to more extreme tactics."

"Of course that boy-crazy girl would pick the wrong guy to have a crush on! Ugh, I cannot believe she would dress up for the enemy!" Luna was glad that Rei understood how serious this was; Ami was just too sweet and kind to be so blunt with Usagi. Luna would need Rei's fiery self to get that girl under control. Though Mars hadn't been the leader of the Scouts in the past, this much Luna knew instinctively, she **had** been the second in command.

"I'll need both of your support on this. Just keep in mind that we are here to help Usagi-san and save her from her own mistakes. We are not here to mindlessly hurt her. I ask you both to try and be compassionate towards your subordinates. If only one of you had awoken first, this imbalance wouldn't have happened."

Luna sighed as she regretted turning Usagi so quickly into a Moonlight Knight. The minute she realized she had found a Knight, Luna should have started drilling the hierarchy in her. That was her fault, she was big enough to admit that.

"Why do we even need her Luna? If a Moonlight Knight is weaker than us, then won't she just get in the way?" Rei sure knew how to ask the hard questions. Luna appreciated her boldness; hopefully, Ami would learn from her and grow to have more confidence in herself.

"Moonlight Knights were **necessary** because they could do what Scouts could not. A Scout had restrictions on what they could or could not do to enemies, not of the Negaverse. Especially since you were from different planets, and were also diplomats in a sense." Luna lectured, so happy to have such a receptive audience listening to her without talking back.

"If our Princess is to become Queen, she will need her Scouts to take up the mantle of diplomats again. You must have a spotless reputation when that happens." The Knights had been the perfect way to deal with humans and other such aliens that were not part of the enemy's forces. What would have been politically difficult to deal with, quickly became dealt with.

"Moonlight Knights did the shadow work of the Queen, along with being the first line of defence when something happened. While it's true they can't compare in brute strength to a Scout, they could go toe to toe with you guys through ingenuity and skill in dispatching an enemy before they knew they were there. Last time, the Knights had only protected the Queen; a mistake on our part."

Luna drooped a little as she remembered advising the Queen that the Princess would be fine with just the Scouts as guardians.

"We can't lose her, the Princess is our only hope in keeping these monsters at bay; just like her mother was. We need the Moonlight Knight to protect our Princess's back as you guard her front." Luna couldn't have been prouder as both the girls nodded in determination.

Pricking her ears up, Luna sat by the girls as she heard Usagi walking towards them. Ami seemed to grow more uncomfortable as Rei crossed her arms and glared at the door. Luna made a mental note to push for Rei to be a mentor to Ami.

"She's here."

Usagi had dressed up again, her hair was braided into multiple large and small braids, all combining to one sole braid that trailed down her back, ending just shy of her knees. The ridiculous girl had to be wearing the tightest pair of jeans she had seen with a studded belt. The black T-shirt was mostly covered by a form-fitting black leather jacket. On her pert nose, was a pair of round dark sunglasses.

' _Is that makeup on her face?'_ Luna internally sneered, noting the thick mascara on her eyelashes and the subtle eyeliner emphasizing them. This just won't do! The girl was far too young to get into makeup, honestly, how did her mother let Usagi go out of the house like this? She looked like a young hooligan, hardly a respectable image for a Moonlight Knight to have.

' _I bet that this is that Naru's fault. Every time she would stay over she would brush Usagi's hair into ridiculous designs and dress her in ridiculous outfits.'_

Ami seemed to shrink into herself as Usagi sat down on the other side of the coffee table, while Rei just squared her shoulders as she looked down at the blonde in defiance.

"Ami-san. Rei-san. Luna." Huffing in frustration, Luna wondered why this child was being so rude.

Rei seemed to be unable to hold her tongue as Luna felt her aura burn even higher.

"What on earth are you wearing?!" Luna flinched at the rise in volume but decided to hold her tongue and let the raven-haired shrine maiden speak. After all her reaction was not wrong.

"...Clothes." Luna sighed as once again Usagi proved to be a difficult team member.

' _I always wondered why the Knights didn't team up with the Scouts, perhaps there is an ingrained lack of compatibility in personalities? Or perhaps Usagi-san is just an outlier.'_ Luna mused, preparing herself to step in once this little conversation was over.

"You look like a gaijin from those foreign movies about rebel boys with their motorcycles." Rei sneered, as Luna nodded along, both not impressed with all the leather and dramatic hairstyle.

"Do you have a foreign family member Usagi-san?"

' _Ami is such a polite child,'_ Luna thought, as she tapped her tail against the table, ' _But really, this is not the time for a talk about genetics._ '

"Yup. I do." Usagi seemed to be so proud over a silly thing, in Luna's opinion. Why should it matter what coloring their hair was?

"...And suddenly everything makes sense to me." Rei remarked, looking smug at her deduction. Luna could feel her hackles start to rise as the conversation started to spiral.

"...what's _that_ supposed to mean." Luna sighed as Usagi refused to sit down; didn't she know how rude it was to talk down to another team member?

"That you are a literal blonde, in every sense of the word." Rei slouched against her bed, as she stretched out her legs in front of her. Luna moved to step in between the girls, as really this had gone on long enough.

"Usagi-san, I'm glad you answered the summonings. I promise to keep this straight to the point and not waste anymore of our time." Clearing her throat, Luna stared unflinchingly at the punk-looking girl. If she thought she could intimidate Luna with a bit of leather and dressing in black, Usagi would have another thing coming.

" It has come to my attention that you are harbouring inappropriate feelings for the General, better known as Jadeite, from the Negaverse."

"The _what_ now?" Honestly, why did this girl need to be so difficult? The others managed to read in between the lines, why couldn't she?

"The Negaverse! The place where our enemy resides and where they create and send those monsters to Earth!" Luna cried, stamping her paw against the table to make her point.

"Why is this the _first time_ you're even mentioning something so important Luna?" Usagi drawled, looking down at her from over her sunglasses.

' _Why this little-'_ Luna bit back a curse, as she felt her fur on her face heat up. Honestly! Who wears sunglasses inside a building? Pretentious people that's who!

"I admit my memory is not what it used to be, but as time goes on I remember more and more. So listen to me when I have something to say, Usagi-san." There. Luna managed to keep her tone even and soft. Why did Usagi constantly have to push her buttons?

"Of course, because you obviously have never been wrong in regards to your memories. Right, Luna?"

Luna pressed her ears against her head as she felt her face burn in embarrassment as Usagi continued, "I'm so glad we have someone like you who will just _know_ our allies from our enemy in an instant, right Ami-san?"

' _The impertinence of this Knight!'_ She hissed internally.

"Hey! It's not Luna's fault you have shitty taste in men. So why don't you stop acting like such a blonde and listen!" Rei snapped, practically snarling to defend Luna from Usagi's lack of discipline.

"I'm just saying that blind obedience is not possible for me when I have seen her make so many mistakes; serious mistakes at that. I'm not saying I won't listen to sensible advice, but so far I can count on one hand how many times **that** has happened. I'll still have fingers left over too."

' _What on earth is she talking about? I always give sensible advice! Without me Usagi would have died a few times already.'_ Luna flicked her ear in annoyance, as she tried to not show how insulted she felt at that remark.

"Well, at least she isn't endangering us all with their stupid crush on a fricking evil General!" Rei hurled the accusation spitefully in Usagi's face.

"Okay, for the record, I would like to know why the _**fuck**_ you guys think I could ever have feelings for the guy who was behind my dad nearly being strangled to death, my honorary aunt nearly beaten and starved to death, and directly caused my best friend - and sister from another mother - to nearly be stuck in an eternal sleep. 'Cause I just can't figure it out no matter how hard I try."

"Don't try and deny that I didn't see you swoon to the sound of the man's voice when Midnight Zero was on. Plus, Naru-san and Mai-san were gossiping about your crush on the man when you were passed out on Rei-san's bed." Luna wondered how far Usagi's denial would go; she had seen so many young girls play 'hard to get' over the years; honestly, why couldn't they accept their feelings and move on?

"So, basically, you're repeating your mistakes. I didn't need the confirmation, that you don't learn from them, Luna. After all, didn't thinking Ami-san _had_ to be the monster merely because she had a cursed floppy disk teach you anything?"

Okay, so she had made one mistake! Luna never claimed to be perfect, so why couldn't Usagi accept her word

"I refuse to watch history repeat itself Usagi-san. The Imperial Silver Millenium fell because a Knight had weakened the barrier in hopes of seeing their lover. That weakness led to the Negaverse to invade and destroy us all." Luna was thankful that Rei was nodding along with her words, though it looked like Ami was doubting her a bit. Usagi was such a troublemaker! Causing strife among her superiors, why couldn't she just follow orders like a proper Knight?!

"That's a very convenient story. Did you just "remember" that? Or are you groundlessly making guesses that support whatever you think?"

"How dare you!" Losing her cool completely, Luna activated her golden crescent, causing an unspeakable pressure to fill the room. Straining against collapsing from the amount of energy she was pouring out, Luna gritted her teeth as she pulled rank on the Knight. Gravity seemed to pull Usagi and the others to the ground, as she quickly got her point across.

"Do you have any idea how many centuries I have been wandering this earth, trying to find you lot? How many friends and loved ones I lost due to someone's stupidity?! I am the Head Royal Advisor of the Queen, equal to one other. Know your placed **Knight**!"

Already Luna could feel herself starting to falter, goodness, why did this girl have to be so obstinate? This wasn't something Luna could do often, it would be ages before she had the energy to do anything similar like this again. No need for the girls to know about this of course, though she would apologize to Ami and Rei. The poor girls looked so overwhelmed as they lay against the ground.

"Your fucking _Kingdom_ is **dead** , your _Queen_ is **dead** , and your _Princess_ isn't any better than **me**. _If_ she's alive, she won't be anything but another scared civilian who knows _nothing_. You failed! Every last one of you failed, and now we have to fix _your_ mess!"

What a child. Honestly, this is what Luna gets for trying to get utter children to understand an adult's responsibility. This rebelliousness has to be cut soon, she can't let her disturb the other's growth.

"Don't forget you are a reincarnation Tsukino Usagi! You failed too! Don't think you can escape that failure." Luna knew what they had done before wasn't enough, she didn't need Usagi to rub in more salt into an already smarting wound. Poor Ami looked so frightened, Luna needed to end this now.

'' **I** did nothing! Whoever the fuck you knew wasn't _me._ " Stupid girl, the Queen ensured that they would be as close to the same as possible. Her mastery over the crystal was absolute.

' _Right...the Imperial Silver Crystal. I remember it now. We have to find that too.'_ A splitting headache began to cause Luna to lose control, luckily she made it seem like she was giving them respite and was powering down.

"No regular human can become a Scout or a Knight. Only those who were before can be so again. You will find that Fate has made you lot very similar, if not the same as before. Now enough of this argument, it is pointless."

Making her way over to Rei and Ami, Luna gently butted her head and comforted poor Ami as Rei glared at Usagi. Clearly the priestess knew who to blame for all of this unpleasantness.

"We are wasting time, as we speak General Jadeite could be unleashing another monster in the city! Your family and friends are in danger. Are you telling me you are so selfish that you would be willing to let them die just to spite us when we are concerned about where your attitude is going? Don't forget, your father, Osaka-san, and Naru have all been hurt during these attacks. Are you willing to let them die just because you can't work in a team?"

Goodness, what a hypocrite; some serious training would be needed before this one was ready to work with the Scouts. Gently licking Ami's hand, Luna smiled as she shakily smiled down at her. Poor girl, Luna would have to get something nice to reward her good behaviour.

"Grow up Usagi-san. We don't have time for teenage issues, the world won't allow it. The past was **DESTROYED**! Everyone **DIED**! We have a chance to save the ones alive once more."

Taking a breath to calm down again. Luna went to her other Scout. Leaping into Rei's lap, Luna headbutted her under the chin, as the priestess breathed shakily and tried to regain some control by petting her. Normally Luna would be against being treated like a pet, but since Mars was so new and clearly needed the comfort, she would her to take liberties just this once.

"This is literally our second chance; you can't escape fate. It never ends well. Now, enough of this. We will continue when you have more sense." She couldn't remember who exactly, but Luna knew that someone had tried to fight fate in the past.

' _I think it was that forbidden love? The Queen had been against it but her heart was too soft to apply proper punishment; My poor Queen, how she suffered.'_ Luna prayed that she was finally at rest, though a part of her wished Luna could have stayed by her side forever.

' _It's just like the Queen used to say, "Love is the Death of Duty._ " _If I had loved my Queen a little less and been a bit harder on her, would she have managed to survive?'_ Of course, Usagi wouldn't just accept her chastisement and just apologize. Oh dear goddess, wasn't she a handful.

"You think you can _browbeat me_ with _scare tactics_? By waving around words like Fate and indirectly threatening my family?"

Okay now, this was getting ridiculous again. Putting her paw against the table, Luna sauntered back up and into Usagi's face. The blonde looked exhausted, though for some reason she kept her face hidden from Luna.

' _Clearly a sign that she regrets what she has done and is now just being stubborn. Well no matter, I can show manners.'_ Looking down her nose at the blonde, Luna cleared her voice as she lowered her tone.

"You've been having nightmares, haven't you? By this point your past memories should be coming back, don't think I haven't noticed. They will continue to come whether you like it or not. Now, I will allow you to cool down and speak more another day."

Tail in the air, Luna coolly moved out of the room, completely drained and just needing to find somewhere to rest. Honestly, this had all been so much more difficult than it needed to be.

Something would have to be done. She couldn't have this girl causing unrest among them. As the remaining advisor left, she had a duty to fulfill; and if there was anything Luna was well known for, it was completing her duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns! ☺


	12. Chapter 11: The First Law of Alchemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: SURPRISE! NEW CHAPPY A LITTLE EARLY :) Hope you guys enjoy
> 
> Great big shoutout to HybrisAnaideia for beta-ing this fic and being a treasure in motivating me on writing this fic.

#  The First Law of Alchemy 

* * *

Ami held back a sob as Luna left the room, taking that frightening energy with her. Rei was saying something, but Ami just didn't have the energy to listen or care at the moment.

' _I always thought Luna was a cat. Like, yes she's an alien, but besides making certain objects appear she had no other visible powers!'_ Cradling her face in her hands, Ami cursed herself for being so stupid.

Usagi and Rei continued to snipe and snark at each other, though their voices were far more hoarse than earlier. Feeling tremors continue to go through her body, Ami's stomach twisted at the thought of Luna coming back to do that _thing_ again.

"...Stop it," she whispered, curling into herself as her bangs covered her eyes. The girls seemed to ignore her as they continued to pick and tear into each other. This was all wrong. This wasn't what she wanted.

' _I thought we would be a team, so why is this happening?'_ Tears streamed down her face, as she bit her lip in frustration. Ami knew she was Sailor Mercury, those moments when she had transformed had filled a void she wasn't aware had existed inside of herself. For once, all of her anxieties and doubts were gone; purged from her mind as if they had never existed.

' _Why_?' She hadn't been a Scout for too long, but Luna had been living with her all this time. Ami knew how kind and patient she could be, like when she gave advice on how Ami could socialize with her mother or telling her about her many travels around the earth. Luna always grew quiet for a few days after speaking about old friends and humans who had helped her along the way; considering the time periods she spoke of, Ami knew they all must have died many years ago.

' _Sure, Usagi wasn't wrong about wanting to keep her hobbies and old social life going, but was all of this really necessary?'_ A pounding headache seemed to overtake her as she wound herself even further into a ball.

This was all so pointless, and she didn't want Luna to be mad anymore.

' _Why is Usagi-san doing this? Why is Rei-san escalating the whole situation?'_ A loud slap caught her attention. Looking up from the ground, Ami saw Usagi's sunglasses hit the ground as Rei yelled in her face.

"You **bitch** why did-" Usagi stopped as Rei kicked her glasses away and began to yell in her face.

" **No**! Look at what _your_ selfishness has caused! I can't _believe_ you!" Rei rubbed her smarting hand as Ami saw her hold back her tears.

"I know Luna isn't 100% reliable, Ami and I aren't stupid, thanks! But can't you _feel_ it?"Ami empathized with Rei, that desperation in her voice as her eyes searched desperately for Usagi to understand what she was talking about, spoke to her.

"Don't you get those _sensations_ of completeness when we fight the bad guys and are listening to Luna talk about the past? Can't you feel that deja vu sensation and think; ' _Oh, this feels right?'"_

Looking hopefully into Usagi's face, Ami felt her heart rise to her throat as Rei asked the question Ami had never been able to voice. Usagi's look of anger and disgust as Rei and Ami stared on had Ami's heart dropping to the pits of her stomach, as the silence grew between them.

"You just slapped my glasses off my face. Forgive me if I don't feel much beyond the pulsing sensations of pain on my cheek." Why did she have to joke like this? Ami bit her lip as more tears escaped down her face.

" _Ugh_! Why do I even bother?! You're just a **Knight**. Maybe _that's_ why you don't understand." Rei turned her back to the blonde and walked out of the room, clearly done with this conversation too.

Picking up Usagi's sunglasses and cradling them in her hands, Ami wept bitterly as Usagi just stood there, looking shocked at Rei's retreating back before smoothing her face into a blank canvas.

"Just go," Ami whispered, refusing to look at her as she stood up and thrust her glasses under Usagi's nose. "Please. I think you've made your point perfectly clear. Now just...go."

Sobs ripped from her as Usagi took the glasses and softly closed the sliding door behind her. Ami collapsed onto the ground as she sobbed loudly into the ground.

' _This was not what I wanted at all. Why did it have to end this way?'_ So much for being the Soldier of Justice and Wisdom.

* * *

Running towards the park, Usagi gripped her glasses in her hands as she bit her lip. Tears threatened to stream down her face no matter how much she blinked them back. Even though Luna and Rei had stormed off, Usagi didn't want word of her crying to reach them. She'd rather _die_ then let them feel the satisfaction of making her tear up.

' _Naru, I'm sorry. Your outfit for me didn't give me the strength to not cry.'_

Rubbing furiously at her eyes with the palm of her hand, she sped up as she turned the corner, slamming into a ridiculously firm chest. Hitting the ground due to the force of the impact, Usagi exhaled sharply as she landed on top of the other person in a clumsy flailing motion. Staring up her in bewilderment, with his head between both of her hands, was none other than Chiba Mamoru.

An eternity seemed to stretch between them.

Traitorous tears escaped her eyes and fell onto his face, causing his eyes to grow concerned as he opened then closed his mouth abruptly.

' _Now,_ _ **now**_ _my humiliation is complete.'_ Closing her eyes for a moment, Usagi regained her senses and pulled herself off of him and began her mad dash again. This was all just too much!

' _Why? I've been jamming that damn energy from inside, so why? Why do I keep bumping into him?!'_ Slowing down to a halt behind some bushes, Usagi threw her sunglasses to the ground and felt an empty satisfaction at watching it break into shards. Hunching down and hiding her face in her hands, she cried out all of her frustrations, thankful no one was around to hear or see her lose control.

Everything was just **too much** right now.

Digging her nails into her face, Usagi shuddered shakily as she hunched her shoulders. ' _I want to go home! I want Naru!'_

"Hey! Wait!" Looking up, she turned to see the devil himself jogging over to her. Puffing her cheeks in annoyance, she quickly stood back up and continued her run. Surely he'd get a clue if she snubbed him right? Making a sharp turn around a tree, Usagi tripped over an overgrown root. Bracing herself for a rough landing, a strong arm grabbed her by her waist and seemed to suspend her over the ground.

"You sure are accident prone today, aren't you?" He huffed in amusement, as he pulled her back into a standing position.

"What's with the biker chick look? Watch too many American movies?"

Spinning around in his grasp, she glared up at his face as her tears continued to fall. Shoving her hands against his chest, she forced a good meter's distance between them.

"Shut up! I don't even _know_ you, so why do you care?" She cried. If it wasn't her energy doing this, did that mean it was a power beyond it? Is this **Fate**?

"We. Are. _Strangers_! So why do we keep meeting? Why do you keep _following_ me? For **fuck's** sake, I'm just a 14-year-old girl!" She screamed, feeling slight pleasure at his flinch and awkward step back. If he wanted to follow her so badly, then he better be ready to hear what she has to say because she was just done with all of **this**!

' _Fate, reincarnation, moon power,_ _ **all of it**_ _! Can. Go._ _ **FUCK**_ _. Itself!'_ She internally screamed, nearly hissing at the young man in front of me.

"Why doesn't anyone understand that?! I'm _**Fourteen**_!" Getting into his face, Usagi swept a hand over her body, "Just because I look older when I dress outside of my uniform, does not mean I am suddenly older than fourteen!"

The awkward look on his face grew more pronounced as she continued her rant, using her hands to make her point.

"I should be having fun with friends, enjoying my art, and getting good grades in school! My worst issues should be regarding my social life and things that seem too big when you're young, but aren't really important when you're older!" She complained, just wanting things back to how they were.

"I shouldn't have to be dealing with anything else, or be unable to sleep a full 7 hours a day anymore because of fucking dreams that are just confusing and stupid!"

Chiba-san's face twitched at that last remark, his eyes narrowing and growing in intensity.

"You've been having dreams?" He asked, his voice suddenly much deeper than it was before.

"Dreams, suppressed memories, proof of past lives, whatever the **fuck** it is I want it to **STOP**!" Choking on her sobs, Usagi just cried and hiccuped, smothering her face back into her hands.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you all this!" Her voice cracked painfully as she hiccuped loudly, "And I hate that! I hate how I just second guess myself around you!"

"You're just a _stranger_ , so why am I telling you all this?" Shaking her head in denial, Usagi swayed as her knees began to buckle, "I don't know you and you most certainly don't know me, so _why_?!"

God, that's what she missed the most about herself; the confidence that every decision and action she was doing was _hers_ and hers alone.

"...Because I _am_ a stranger, and I _don't_ know you."

"Huh?" Wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, Usagi looked at him in bafflement as he gently and slowly reached out, giving her more than enough time to stop him, as he pulled her towards a nearby bench.

"It's easier to talk to people you don't know because the chances of meeting again are very small." He said, glancing away from her face as she tried to clean it with her handkerchief. "We just seem to have bad luck."

A rueful smile crossed his face, prompting Usagi to weakly give him one back in return. Looking down at the handkerchief, Usagi drew strength from the warm weight of his hand on her arm. Giving her one last squeeze, he released her and moved a bit farther away, giving her some much-needed space.

"... _Why_ did you follow me? Right now and that day at the arcade. You didn't have to continue talking after we bumped into each other. You could have snarked and continued on your way. Even right now, you could have just ignored me and left me be...So, why?" She just didn't get it, he was so confusing! Glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, she tried to read his expression.

"...That day at the arcade, I admit I was curious." Their eyes met as he gave her another small huff of laughter. His head was shaking as he seemed to think back at their less-than-graceful meeting.

' _Was he really that fond of it?'_ She wondered. For her, it had been an annoyance; one that had lead to unpleasant discoveries and crippling self-doubt about all of her future interactions with this man.

' _Though I guess if I'm being 100% honest... There was a moment, just a small one, where bickering with him was fun.'_

"Motoki had told me about a girl he considered to be another little sister. It wasn't till I bumped into you, that I realized you were the girl he was talking about." She had no idea Motoki talked about her to anyone. Though considering how free he is with information, maybe that was silly of her to assume he didn't.

"I actually had meant to apologize for being so irritated. After I had salvaged my jacket, I realized that I had reacted much harsher than I normally would have."

So he had felt it too then, that strange need to just act and say more than they would normally say. If Usagi ever got to the bottom of what was making them act like this she would _bitch_ slap it so hard…!

' _Least I can do after all the trouble it has caused.'_ Looking back down to her hands, Usagi rubbed the nail marks in her palms. Today had been stressful, and it wasn't even **3 PM** yet. Fuck her life.

"Wasn't that a sign that you should have stayed away then?" God knows she hadn't wanted to see him again. Straining her ears to hear his reply, she was startled into looking at him by a light touch on her shoulder.

"You're famous you know," He smiled ruefully at her confused face,"It's all Motoki's fault too. He loves telling these stories of how devoted you are to the people you love, how you had rejected popular students both the same age as you and older for the sake of keeping your friendship with that red-haired girl."

' _Motoki-nii-san! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy!'_ A red flush crept up her neck as Usagi felt herself turn into a tomato. A hot tomato. A hot tomato wearing leather. **Fun**.

"I've always admired that in a person, so when we met that second time I was curious. After that, I just really liked bickering with you." The raven-haired fashion disaster gave her a shallow bow as he began to apologize for his actions.

"Sorry, I should have stopped the moment I realized you didn't like it. You just made everything so much fun and, as sad as it sounds, I don't really have a lot of friends." His bangs covered his eyes as he continued to hold the bow in place. "I promise after this you won't see me anymore."

"Calm down, let's not get dramatic now. Honestly...So, what? You want me as a friend?" Men are so confusing. Was her brother going to end up like this as well?

' _Why can't he just tell it to me straight?'_ Tugging on the ends of her braid, Usagi waited as he sat back up and stared at her intently.

"You claim we're strangers...But we don't have to be." He answered, turning his face away to hide his embarrassed yet hopeful eyes as he thrust out his hand.

"My name is Chiba Mamoru. I'm in my last year of high school, and I dream of becoming a doctor one day. My favourite colours are green and blue, and I have no memories of my childhood. I know a thing or two about sleepless nights due to unwanted visions and I also barely have any free time." Laughing weakly at his ridiculous introduction, she reached out and gripped his hand tight.

"My name is Tsukino Usagi and I am in my last year of middle school. I don't have any set dreams, but I love to do all kinds of art. My favourite colours are pink, white and purple. I suffer from sleepless nights and have very little free time."

Huffing a laugh he smiled back at her words.

"Nice to meet you."


	13. Chapter 12: Snarled Threads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Surprise Again! I managed to give you one more update! Lol Again I do not own this series and am picking and choosing what I want from the anime, manga and my own headcanons! So everyone thank my amazing beta who has been revving me up all weekend to get. The inspiration is real.

# Snarled Threads 

* * *

"Continue hot gluing the rope around the bucket Naru. Once you reach the end, we're going to cut off the excess and stick the end on an angle." Sharing a smile with her mother, Usagi watched as Naru and Shingo finished making the base of their homemade rope baskets.

"Wonderful Shin-chan, Na-chan! Now I already made the leather straps this morning with Usa-chan. We just have to carefully attach them after we pull our baskets off the buckets." Her mom beamed as she carefully helped Usagi's brother, while Usagi helped Naru add the handles. Her face was still a little pale, but the vomiting had calmed down after drinking an herbal tea every morning. Her father's happy yet worried mood had caused Usagi to wonder...

Life had become much more peaceful for Usagi these last couple of weeks, as the Scouts and Luna had decided to ignore her.

' _I've been managing to get my grades back up, spend more time with Shin-chan, and help mom with her baking!_ ' A part of Usagi pondered if she had been too selfish by suddenly stopping cold turkey with her hero-ing side gig.

' _They can handle it just fine without me. After all, I'm just a_ _ **Knight**_ _.'_

It seemed that Ami was the only one actively trying to keep in touch, as she had left her a note in her desk the other day, updating Usagi on the latest two monster attacks.

' _I do_ _ **not**_ _envy them for having to search for the monster at the DreamLand Amusement Park.'_ She mused, remembering how her father had gone there to interview one of the guards and had noted that the place had been huge and full of different fun-house style stations. The possibility of getting lost and walking into a trap must have been very high.

' _If dad had to return to that place one more time, then issues with the others or not, I definitely would have gotten involved._ ' Usagi though, viciously adding the final touches to her basket. It was so nice to know that they could handle things without her purifying the monster with her tiara, though…

Glancing up, Usagi watched as her mother turned on the TV to hear the 6 o'clock news - which was reporting on the Luxury Couple's Cruise - remarking that they still hadn't figured out what had turned the brand new ship into an old wreck.

' _Nor why none of the staff or guests could remember what had happened after dinner time.'_

Feeling Naru place a hand on her shoulder, they both watched as the announcer revealed that a corpse had been found on the ship, burnt to a crisp but with DNA testing revealing it to be a young woman who had been killed thousands of years ago.

"-Scientists have been calling the Cruise Mummy a treasure trove, as the body has been dated to be older than the Bronze Age. The authorities suspect that artifacts had been smuggled on the boat when a fire -"

"Goodness isn't that something!" Usagi watched as her mother speculated with Shingo on how this could have happened.

"Maybe the Sailor Scouts had something to do with it." Shingo looked so adorable as he finished up his basket with a proud smile on his face, that she could almost ignore the words that had come out of his mouth.

"Shin-chan, who are you talking about?" Ikuko asked, completely missing Usagi exchanging looks with Naru.

"You know, the Sailor Scouts?" Shingo stared at them in expectation, seeming to deflate at their lack of reaction. "Those girls in the one coloured sailor uniforms who defeat the monsters?"

Naru looked back down at her basket, hiding her look of distaste on her face. Usagi appreciated her friend's discretion in the face of her brother's obvious admiration. Shingo quickly lit up under his mother's avid attention as he explained who these Scouts were and why they were so 'cool'.

"Right now there are two Sailor Scouts; one is called Mars and she wields fire, while the other is Mercury and she wields-"

"Ice?" Naru remarked, putting the final touches on her basket before testing how much it would hold comfortably.

"No...Water." Usagi caught Shingo's cautious look as he stared a bit longer in Naru's direction before turning back to their mother.

"Though there have been some rumours that there is actually a _third_ Sailor Scout who was active in Tokyo before Mercury and Mars," Shingo smirked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, head tilted up with his nose pointing towards the air. "I think this theory is _right_!"

Usagi took a small brush and began to write a part of a poem in between the borders of her bucket. If she painted some vines and leaves, the words would be all but invisible to the eye.

"How come?" Shingo grinned at their mom's indulgent question, looking ready to burst on telling them his opinion.

"Mars and Mercury are good at fighting together, but it's the way that Mercury reacts sometimes that tipped me off. Every single time they are finishing off the monster, Mercury makes space as if she's expecting someone else to do the final blow." Usagi held back a giggle as Shingo started to wave his hands as he emphasized his points.

"There's always this weird pause in her actions. Mars doesn't have that pause but since she literally is the most recent Scout, we think it's 'cause there was someone else fighting with Mercury until recently."

"In fact, it's only since Mars joined Mercury that they've been caught on camera and in photos. Before that, Mercury would get caught sometimes but not her whole body. She was always looking to the side and up as if she was speaking to someone just a little bit taller than her." Shingo practically vibrated as he looked so proud at his reasoning. Truly, he was just so cute when he got like this.

"... So, what do you think happened? To this third member?" It looks like Naru couldn't resist hearing her brother's theory.

"Well, I and my friends think that there was a split in the group when Mars came. Mercury doesn't act like someone has died, but she _clearly_ isn't always comfortable when listening to Mars. Also, she stands a little apart from Mars in some of the photos, as if she is holding herself back. So we think it must have been a clash in ideologies or something, and Mercury might be regretting her choice."

"She _better_ be feeling remorseful," Naru muttered, looking resentful as she cleaned up her craft area.

Seeing the puzzled faces on her mother and brother, Usagi put on a big smile as she asked if the cookies were ready yet from the oven. Her mother seemed to pale before she cried out in distress and raced to the kitchen, frantic to see if the cookies had managed to burn or not.

Shingo ran after her, claiming that he would be willing to eat any of the burnt cookies. In their honour, of course.

"...Still angry at them Naru-chan?" Usagi asked, making sure to keep her tone even as she started on the vines and leaves.

Naru huffed loudly, throwing the cleaning rag against the table, before flopping back into her chair.

"I can't believe you _aren't_ Usa-chan." She sounded so exasperated as she looked over at her.

"Who said I wasn't?" Usagi could still feel it, even now. A burning sensation of betrayal that threatened to erupt into uncontrollable flames. Small and nearly dormant when away from them, but roaring at the smallest hint of their presence.

' _It's a good thing Naru is here. I don't know if I would still be able to smile to Shingo as he gushed otherwise.'_

And wasn't that a sad thought? She had known Ami and Luna for such a short, intense time, and she couldn't even say she had liked one of them for the whole period.

' _Yet...it still hurts.'_ Placing a hand on her heart Usagi shook her head, unwilling to give them the power to upset her any further.

"Usa-chan?" Naru's worried face snapped Usagi out of her funk. After all, she had far more precious people to worry about.

"Let's go see if there are any cookies left, hm?"

* * *

Walking through the park Usagi sighed in happiness as the sun's warm rays kissed her face. The strands of her hair, danced in the wind, as her reverse braided bun - which was more of a reverse braided ponytail due to the crazy amount of hair -

"Enjoying the weather?"

Turning around, Usagi weakly smiled as Chiba Mamoru smirked at her from the shadow of a nearby tree.

"I was. Till this strange creeper appeared and ruined the mood." Usagi wondered if it was normal to bond so quickly with someone she used to bicker with relentlessly.

' _Though...it's not like I stopped bickering with him.'_ In this, Usagi silently noted that he had been right, it was fun to verbally spar with someone when it was welcome. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

"I think you mean, "Until this handsome, charming stranger, added to my enjoyment as his words of wisdom-" Mamoru took on an obnoxious, pinched falsetto voice as he fluttered his eyelashes exaggeratedly at her.

"Stop! Stop!" Laughter spilled from her lips as she nearly keeled over. Wiping the corners of her eyes, Usagi beamed up at his face. His eyes sparkled back as he wore a genuine smile on his face.

"You're ridiculous, you know that right?"

It hadn't been easy for the first few meetups. They had been full of awkward pauses and looks. Now at least they could talk for a little bit before it became awkward.

' _Liiiike,_ _ **now**_ _.'_ And there it was, that awkward pause that still popped up after he somehow made her laugh. Looking away, Usagi avoided his gaze as she wandered over to the bench. After that blow up that she had, she and Mamoru had continued to gravitate to this place.

' _Maybe it's because there aren't a lot of people that visit this area?'_

Sitting together in silence, Usagi wondered if they would speak any more, having reached their quota for the day.

"So, what have you been up to?" He asked, proving her wrong. Mamoru seemed to like doing that.

"Oh you know, the usual. Sleepless nights, weird dreams. You?" It hadn't been too bad these past few weeks, but that didn't take away from the fact that she still woke up exhausted.

"Same." Usagi had noticed that while Mamoru could be witty and clever during their little spats, he seemed to regress back into one-worded answers after a while.

' _Maybe I should make more of an effort?'_ Turning to face her bench mate, Usagi gave him a small smile as he looked at her quizzically.

"...What do you dream about Mamoru-san?"

"It's changed over the years. When I was little, after I lost my family in a car accident, I used to dream of a woman in the mists calling out to me." His face fell as he raised a hand to gently touch the side of his head. "I lost all the memories of my family that day. For the longest time, all I had was that woman, begging for help."

"...You mentioned they had changed?"

"When I was little, I met someone that changed those dreams." A sweet smile crossed his face as he reached down to clutch his wrist, "She had been the first person since I woke up to ask to be my friend, and was just so kind."

"I ended up passing out that day, having my first peaceful sleep by her side. Unfortunately, when I woke up...she was gone."

Something about this story was familiar to Usagi, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember why.

"If it hadn't been for the gift she had given me, I think I would have eventually decided that she was just someone I had dreamed up," Usagi decided that she would try and make him smile more. If they were going to be friends, then happiness between them would have to be a must.

' _Besides, he actually looks his age when he smiles, instead of a guy in his mid-20s.'_

"Ever since that day, I get new dreams now. Sure, there will still be nights where that woman appears, but otherwise, I dream of a beautiful golden castle with the largest, most beautiful garden of roses. I have friends who I call brothers and parents who love me."

' _How lucky.'_ Usagi wished her dreams were as sweet as his. While there had been some warm moments in her dreams, she just couldn't escape having at least one unpleasant vision.

"Those sound like nice dreams." Mamoru's face fell at her words, turning wistful as he looked away.

"They **were**. Not anymore." A cold breeze blew past them, bringing clouds and darkening the day a bot. Shivering slightly, Usagi rubbed her arms as she looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" Inching closer to his spot, Usagi wondered if it was okay for her to reach out and touch him. Friends supported each other, but things still felt weird between them.

"...I dream of my mother falling sick, with no one being able to cure her. My father descending into madness as he tried everything possible to save her life, even going as far as breaking a sacred rule. He contacts a frightening Queen whose powers were too much for any mortal to command. As for my brothers…" Pain crossed his face as he clutched his heart, biting his lip severely. Tsk-ing loudly, silence descended once more as he trembled in suppressed grief.

"..." Usagi didn't blame him for his intense reaction. The dreams were just too intense; it was almost frightening to her, how much they made them care about people they had never met before in this life. Still...

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I didn't want to bring you pain." Reaching out slowly, Usagi placed her one of her hands on his wrist, giving him ample time to yank it away or stop her. Slowly sliding her hand to his palm, she stopped there for a moment as his skin gently rested against hers.

Mamoru looked at her carefully as he slowly intertwined their fingers, keeping his grip on her hand strong but easy to break out of if she felt uncomfortable.

"Thank you Usagi-san. For listening."

"What are friends for?" Holding each other's hand, Usagi felt hope that over time they would be able to cultivate a strong friendship.

* * *

All of those talks of dreams and tormenting visions seemed to have triggered something in her, for later that night a series of events unfolded that would change Usagi's life forever.

Tossing and turning, soft moans and groans of pain escaped her lips as she woke once more in a flash. Huffing in frustration, she shut her eyes tight, praying that someone would allow her to rest. What happened instead took away any rest she had hoped to gain.

* * *

_Blonde hair, cold grey eyes and a pale complexion. White military uniform with a body length cape. Confident and proud in the manner of his stride._

' _Why is this guy so familiar?' She wondered as he stared at her with a blank expression._

" _Your Royal Highness, I come before you to plead my case." His tone was all courtesy, and pleasing to the ear, but lacked any real emotion in her humble opinion. She could see why he was considered the Knight of Comfort and Purity. With his innocent looks and soothing tone, one would never guess he could rip you apart with his bare hands._

' _Knight of Comfort and Purity? Seriously?' Usagi looked on in disbelief at this baby faced man, wondering if this was an actual memory or the side effect of eating too many sweets before going to bed._

" _Case? Is there something wrong with the Far-Eastern Division, General?" Once again, Usagi could hear herself speaking in that too-young-yet-too-old tone of voice._

" _Your Highness, I have scoured through all of the relevant texts in Elysion and spoken to the other Generals for advice." His tone was perfectly even, no hint of what these texts meant at all._

' _Did he though? Did he really?' Usagi felt skeptical as she watched his robotic way of speaking. 'God he sounds like someone is forcing him to say the words. They don't sound sincere at all!_

" _We are in agreement with our findings. May I present them to you?" For a moment she thought she had seen him look bored, but-_ _ **no**_ _. That's preposterous, why would he be so bored if he's the one who had asked for her audience?_

' _Ugh. This guy is really ticking me off.' This version of herself must be blind and deaf to not notice how freaking bored he is. Pausing for a moment, she noticed that was the second time he had called her "Your Highness."_

' _That's...that's how you speak to a Princess, isn't it.' Suddenly recalling Luna speaking of the Moon Princess, Usagi wondered if the world was cruel enough to make her- '_ **_No_ ** _! I must be a_ **_different_ ** _princess.'_

" _...Proceed." Unease filled Usagi's body as the General bowed once more in gratitude._

' _...That was the most sarcastic bow I have ever seen.' She would know, she's the one usually bowing mockingly to some pretentious asshole. Is this what it feels to be on the other side?_

" _Thank you. Ahem. Your Highness, you are truly a_ _ **kind**_ _and_ _ **innocent**_ _soul. We, the generals, are_ _ **all**_ _in agreement that the Prince, His Highness, has never_ _ **enjoyed**_ _these past few months as he has with you. For that, you have our eternal gratitude." A kind smile bloomed on his face. It completely changed his expression as warmth seemed to radiate from his body._

' _...Does this asshole actually think I'll believe half of the shit coming out of his mouth? Please!' Rolling her eyes, Usagi saw what he did there. 'Kind and Innocent? More like weak and naive in their eyes! And was that a dig at her being just the flavour of the month?' Usagi wondered if it was possible to strangle a memory._

" _No thanks are necessary. I love him. Being with him these past months, I too have enjoyed happiness I never thought possible for me." Her body seemed to flush in pleasure as Usagi heard herself speak of this Prince._

" _Please keep in mind that it is solely due to the love I bear for the Prince and the respect I have for Your Highness, that we have kept this hidden from the Court."_

' _Forbidden love? Ugh, how cliche.' Rolling her eyes, Usagi hoped this dream would end soon. Also what a weaksauce threat, honestly was that the worst that he could do? How boring; she had expected better from her dreams._

" _And we are grateful for your discretion." Her voice took a colder edge as her body grew lax as if dismissing him from her regard._

" _Then please, Your Highness, I beg of you to let the Prince go and return his heart back to him." Staring straight at her, he seemed to wait patiently for her reply, the slight twitch in his fingers betraying him._

' _Oh shit. Now he's done it.' Usagi wondered if she would see the death of the man in front of her. This body seemed to flush in a rage she hadn't felt since Naru had gotten hurt._

" _..._ _ **What**_ _." For a moment the air seemed to still as she grew angrier with his words._

" _We have found prophecies of many seers throughout the years warning against a Royal choosing a_ _ **Moon-born**_ _for their spouse. It speaks of the destruction of Elysion should this union occur." Cold grey eyes stared at her, determined and resolute in his words._

" _Oh for fuck's sake!" Usagi cursed up a storm as she realized she lived on the Moon and was a fucking Princess. "_ _**NO**_ _! I_ _**refuse**_ _! Do you hear me universe?! NO NO_ _**NO** _ _!"_

" _You would have me leave_ _ **my love**_ _for the ramblings of humans who don't even have a fraction of power you yourself bare? Let alone your Prince and I?" Looking down at him, she held back a scoff at his words._

_Usagi tried to close her eyes, not wanting to know any more about what had happened in the past. She was tired of this shit. Wasn't finding out that_ _**she** _ _was the princess_ _**enough** _ _?_

' _So does that mean I was never a Knight then? But I look nothing like the Scouts!_ _**Ugh!** _ _I wish I had someone to talk to about this.' One thing was for sure, there was no way in the seven hells that Usagi would let_ _**LUNA** _ _find out who she was. They could search for their dead Princess until the end of time for all she cared._

" _Please Your Highness! The signs leading up the calamity have become more obvious to our seers and is sowing unrest among our people. Suspicions are rampant!" Blondie knelt like a knight before his ruler as he pleaded for the Princess to listen, with actual emotion actually showing itself for the first time._

" _Come on! Wake up! I've had enough now!_ _ **Hello**_ _?!_ _ **Energy**_ _?!" Trying to move this body, Usagi looked on in dismay as she realized she truly was nothing but a spectator in these dreams. She couldn't even close her eyes._

" _Then instead of hiding, we should be open with the people!" Thrusting her hands wide, she wondered if her dreams of being with her love out and about would come true?_

" _I can't believe I sound this fucking spoiled. What kind of Princess was I? Sheltered beyond all reason?!" Usagi mentally gripped her hair, as she tried to swallow the fact that_ _ **this**_ _was her past self. "Maybe this is all just a big mistake? A side effect of bad sugar? A delusion due to my subconscious issues with Luna and this whole clear as mud mission?"_

" _Please no! Your Highness-" Another look crossed his face, too quickly for her to understand. All that was left was this look of alarm._

_Amazing. Who knew big grey eyes with floofy hair could hide such a terrifying glare. Good thing he hid that or other-me might have flounced off already. It was interesting to see how long he could hold that look as she_ _kept shutting him down._

" _I have done nothing to be ashamed of, why shouldn't I be standing by his side?"_

" _Lady, clearly this is bigger than you," Usagi muttered, nearly gagging at the arrogance._ _**She**_ _wasn't Usagi. This obviously wasn't her. Besides, what about the Spanish dreams she'd been having?_

' _Maybe there is another reason I am seeing this?' She grasped at straws, trying to hide from what she had learned._

" _Please Your Highness, even General Neph-" Rising from his kneeling position, he twitched as he seemed to hold himself back from getting any closer._

" _No! You ask for too much General Jadeite!"_

_Usagi recoiled as she heard his name be spoken with such upset._ ' _**Jadeite** _ _?! What?!' Feeling faint, Usagi wondered if it was possible to pass out in a dream._

_Her whole being seemed to force itself to relax, as Usagi heard herself sigh carefully. Delicate hands reached out to grab then ends of her practically_ _**sheer** _ _dress-_

' _ **WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE WEARING?!'**_

_Horror at the fact that her sheer silk dress was fucking_ _ **white**_ _, and she could already tell that underwear wasn't something that had been invented yet, caused Usagi's face to burn in embarrassment._

" _Now, it is solely for the respect I bare you and the other Generals that I will not let_ _ **him**_ _know what you have asked me today. Thank you for your love for my Prince, but I must ask you to not interfere." Usagi felt her hand press against her heart, as her voice grew firmer._

" _None of my Scouts have had a single vision of such destruction. Forgive me if I trust their powers over your human seers. Good Evening." Locks pulled up in that twin bun hairstyle, flicked over her shoulder as Usagi saw the dismayed and distraught face of the General behind her, something flickering in his eyes as he watched her leave._

' _Who knew Jadeite could make such a face? Also, was that anger in his eyes?'_

_The place faded away as Usagi gained back control over her body. Collapsing onto the ground, she stared blankly at the darkness before her._

" _Oh god...What did I just_ _**learn** _ _?"_

* * *

Jolting awake, Usagi stared into her dark bedroom, as her golden crescent appeared; giving a soft glow in the darkness.

"... _ **Fuck**_."


	14. Chapter 13: Disco Inferno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: HAPPY WEEKEND! Here is your weekly update! It is the longest of my chapters and a lot happens in a short period of time! I hope you all enjoy and a big shout out to Hybris for being the best beta! SHE REALLY GOT MY INSPIRATION GOING!

# Disco Inferno 

* * *

Pulling her hair in a bun, Naru stretched her body as she looked at her final product. A beautiful dark blue dress, decorated with lace and frills, with sheer sleeves lay on her bed. Now all she needed was to finish making her bloomers, fix her petticoat, and add the final touches of embroidery to her stockings. Finally, her Lolita outfit was just about ready and she would be able to attend a local event. Naru hadn't meant to fall in love with the new fad, but something about the Western-style short dresses had called to her.

' _Usa-chan was so kind to donate some of her magical hair for my wig.'_ There, placed on the dresser, was a perfectly styled and decorated wig of golden hair. Naru smiled as she fingered it, excited to be able to wear it in public soon.

' _With this, Usa-chan and I will look like sisters.'_ She giggled at the thought, wondering if her friend would be free to come to visit her today. Not even finishing her thought, a loud bang rang out as her bedroom door burst open. Golden hair, messily falling out of a high bun, framed two watery blue eyes as Usagi just dove into her room and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Usa-" Wobbling in place at the force, Naru took a brief moment to thank that her mother had stepped out for the morning.

"I -I -"A shuddered gasp escaped from her lips as Usagi began to cry silently, gripping Naru's waist tighter as she just sank to her knees and collapsed against Naru's legs.

"Shhhhh. It's okay." Naru had never seen her like this. Rubbing her hands against her best friend's back, she hummed and tried to calm her down.

"What happened Usa-chan?" Naru wondered if Luna or the other two had appeared. Usagi had been a little raw since that fight but had seemed to have been moving on...

' _I swear if they did something I'll-'_ Wringing her hands violently, Naru sighed before refocusing on her sniffling friend.

"Naru...I had a dream last night." Usagi sounded so subdued, worrying Naru to slide out of her embrace and kneel before her. Her golden crescent moon was shining dully, as it seemed to pulse under her bangs. Gently wiping her friend's tears from her face, Naru wondered what it was that she had seen, to have shaken her so much.

"Those weird memory dreams? When you're either in a white marble palace or in a small house filled with people?" Naru had her suspicions about the marble palace one, especially since her friend had a magical crescent moon marking and the cat was looking for a **moon** princess.

"I was speaking to General Jadeite about his Prince, as he was asking me to leave him and-" Double taking in surprise, Naru cut in, unable to think of why her best friend would be dreaming about that asshole unless it was to fantasize brutally kicking his butt.

"Wait! Do you mean that creepy bastard from the Radio Station? That guy has an evil prince?" And suddenly, so much made sense to Naru…

Usagi seemed to giggle wetly as she shook her head, causing more strands of hair to flow out of her hair and past her shoulders.

"No, no. At least, I don't think so. I didn't get that vibe." Naru watched as Usagi seemed to recall that dream with a thoughtful look on her face.

"The General looked ...Different. He was wearing white and seemed _less_ smarmy smug-faced look, you know?"

Trying to picture the man, a hard thing when all you knew was his voice and that he had a head full of pale blond hair, from that time in the temple…..

"O...kay... So he wasn't always evil and had a Prince. Then what happened?" Usagi seemed to wear a truly disturbing look as she raked her hands through her messy bangs, revealing the still glowing magical crescent moon, and throwing the rest of her hair into a tumbled mess over her shoulders.

"Naru...this is gonna sound a little crazy but...I think… I think I'm... **I'm** the lost Moon Princess." she muttered, her voice getting lower and lower as Naru stared at Usagi in confusion.

A moment silence seemed to sit between them as Naru stared at her flustered friend, before jumping to her feet and cheering.

"I **knew** it! I knew you were the princess! I mean, come on! Unexplainable power, a crescent moon on her forehead, weird dreams of a marble palace with a lady who looks just like you but with silver hair and eyes?"

It just all made sense! Stars in her eyes, Naru looked down at her bewildered friend. This was so cool! Not only is Usagi a hero called Moonlight Knight, but she was also a lost Princess! A Princess Knight!

"Eek! This is so exciting! And you had a Prince? Was it a forbidden romance? It was, wasn't it?! That's why the General wanted you to go away right?" Naru loved reading about forbidden love and the couple just working hard to move heaven and earth to be together.

' _Plus, it means that Usagi-chan had_ _ **True**_ _**Love**_ _once upon a time! If there is anything that literature has taught me, is that True Love will be able to cross time and space; that Usagi-chan will meet her prince and be happily ever after!'_ Naru teared up slightly at the thought that her friend would find someone who would be able to appreciate her friend as she deserved.

"Naru... **Naru**!" Stopping to glance back at her friend, Naru paused as she saw how scared and upset Usagi was.

"Usagi-chan...?" Fresh tears spilled from Usagi's cheeks, as her friend just seemed to crumble before her.

"I-I'll never be free. Don't you see? This isn't a good thing, this is _terrible_! I can't walk away from this...According to Luna, those monsters are going to come to find me." Usagi looked like someone who had lost all hope, eyes listless as she stared at her bare hands.

Staying quiet, Naru sat next to Usagi as she listened to her friend pour out her frustrations and fears.

"...In one of my dreams, that **woman** , the silver wearing older me, she spoke of a crystal...that was probably the old Queen." Usagi mumbled, flopping over to lie on Naru's floor as she stared up at the ceiling.

"Crystals of power tend to attract greed and evil till the end of its days…" Naru watched as her friend crossed her arms over her eyes and let out a harsh, " **Fuck**!"

Peeking from under her arms, Usagi sighed as she looked at her, "...I'm trapped Naru...what do I do?" Naru didn't know what to say; she hadn't even thought of it like that. Crawling next to her prone friend, Naru placed her head on her stomach as they both stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know…" Naru tried to remember all of the conversations they'd had on her supernatural pastime. She hoped something in those conversations could help. Looking up to her friend's face, Naru reached out and gently placed her hand on her elbow, catching Usagi's attention.

"For what it's worth...I'm here. And I swear Usa, I won't leave you to face this alone." Smiling softly at each other, Usagi mouthed a weak "Thank you" as they laid in silence.

' _Think Naru think! Who can Usa-chan talk to that isn't some weird, deranged alien cat with amnesia and her pose?'_ Lightly smacking her hands against her head, Naru bolted up in excitement as a recent conversation gave her an idea.

"Hey! What about that Tux guy? He seems to know stuff. Maybe he has some advice he can give you." Sketchy he may be, he _had_ saved her okaa-san's life, and for that alone she was hoping that Usagi would hear him out.

Sitting up, Usagi stared dispassionately as she mulled the idea over.

"...That's an idea."

Scutching closer, Naru leaned into her friend, as she still sounded depressed. She hated it when her friend was sad like this, what else could she do to help?

"Anyone else you know that's had weird dreams of a past life?" Maybe Usagi had met someone who was like her? It was a big world, so who knows right?

"...You know what, _yeah_. I think I **do** know someone." Hearing the hope creep back into her friend's voice, Naru smiled as she gently pushed her off and sent her to go take a bath. They had stayed over at each other's houses for so long that Naru had some of Usa's clothes in her closet.

Choosing a pink button-up blouse, with high waisted light jeans and some white sneakers, Usa had left the last time she was there.

_Excellent. Now, how should I style her hair this time?'_ Looking through her book of hairstyles, Naru found the "Cage" braid.

' _Perfect.'_ Hearing the door of her bathroom open, Naru got to work in helping Usagi get ready for, probably, one of the most awkward conversations she'd be having for a long time.

Applying some mascara and a light layer of nude lip gloss, Naru smiled as she saw how hot she looked.

' _It's like okaa-san always says: When you're going into a difficult situation, make sure to look as hot as possible to throw off the enemy.'_

Waving goodbye, Naru turned back to look at her lolita dress. There were lots of different styles of lolita, and Usagi already looked beautiful in regular clothes...

"...I wonder if Usa-chan will wear a princess-inspired lolita dress if I ask?" Naru, now plagued with inspiration in making a lolita outfit worthy of a moon princess, grinned as she imagined Usagi's reaction.

Nodding firmly, she turned to go find a suitable pattern to design.

"...Of course, she will."

* * *

"Mamoru-san!" Waving her hands at the tired-looking guy, Usagi wondered if he had slept at all. He seemed to be drained as he wandered over. Maybe she shouldn't have asked him to meet with her?

Handing him his double shot espresso, Usagi worried slightly as he chugged it like it was water.

"...Are you okay?" He seemed to perk up under her eyes, as he awkwardly smiled at her, rubbing his neck bashfully.

"Yeah, just pulled an all-nighter finishing a paper and I have exams next week."

' _Oh shit. I forgot that he was in his last year of high school.'_

Bowing formally, Usagi apologized for taking up his time like this and that she would be willing to treat him to something to eat in exchange.

"Really, you don't have to do that! Besides, it's my fault. I took some extra courses this year for fun and didn't realize how difficult it would be to juggle the workload." He grinned at her like it was something to be proud was good about working himself half to death because he could?

' _Geez, what a workaholic. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't have too many friends.'_

"Please Mamoru-san. I _insist_." Somehow, he had lost weight since the last time she saw him despite already being skinny. Was he even eating properly?

' _God, he's gonna be a handful huh?'_ Well if Mamoru decided to still be her friend after this, then she would have to enlist Naru's help on getting him to eat. The girl had been on a high carb cooking spree, forcing Usagi to eat some more for lunch or the times she has slept over. Of course, she seemed to slow down once Usagi started her break, so maybe it was just a faze?

"Well, what's up? Since we started talking you've rarely been the one to call me over." Smirking up at her, he leaned back, letting his wavy mess of a hair fall over his eyes, "Usually it's me bumping into you."

"You mean creeping on me as I try and enjoy the sun?" Holding back a laugh, Usagi knew that she would _never_ let him live down on how often they had crashed into each other.

"I didn't realize you had a hearing problem, Usagi-san." His eyes sparkled as he leaned over, enjoying their ritual banter.

"Let me try again, being the kind person that I am; I said that I, an innocent bystander, happen to meet people who need my sense of guidance and-" Throwing her purse at his head, Usagi rolled her eyes as he caught it while he burst into laughter at her antics.

"Oh shut up!" His eyes sparkled as he was clearly pleased with himself at making her react.

"In all seriousness, are you okay? I got the feeling that you weren't too happy when you called me?"

The mood seemed to die as Usagi sat next to him on their bench. Sighing loudly, Usagi wondered how she would start this conversation? She really should have planned it more clearly.

"This is gonna sound weird, but just hear me out okay?" Mamoru starred seriously at her, giving her his full attention as she tried to get the words out.

"So. Remember how we've been talking about how our dreams are weird and intense? Like we've lived them before?" Honestly, with how many people could say you had discussed reincarnation and past lives bleeding through in their dreams?

"...Yes." Mamoru sat up straighter as he seemed to realize where this was going.

"Well, I had a dream last night. Too vivid and detailed to be made up...Will you listen to what happened in my dream?" The worst he could say was no right? Though if he didn't want to listen to her, Usagi wasn't sure how else to bring up-

"Yes." Startled into looking at his face, she was taken aback by the resolute look on his face as he stared at her with such intensity.

Taking a deep breath, she began describing General Jadeite and his pleas to this Princess from the moon to stay away from his Prince for the good of the realm. As she spoke, Usagi noted how his eyes had widened in shock at the description of the fair-haired, grey-eyed man, and seemed to grow wider at the description of the princess in a scandalously sheer white dress.

"...She didn't notice how upset the General was as she left. But trust me when I say, I know the look of frustrated anger when I see it." Fiddling with her hands, Usagi looked away as her cheeks started to heat up as she forced herself to say the next part.

"I...IthinkImightbetheMoonPrincessandthatmaybeyou'rethePrince!" Spilling it out one breath, she looked up determinedly, trying not to show her fear that he wouldn't believe her.

"...Come again?" Usagi starred as he huffed in amusement while reaching over and tugging the ends of her braid. "While I am skilled in many languages, I'm afraid 'mumble' isn't one of them."

"Ugh! Don't tease, this is serious!" Taking another deep breath, she spoke slower as he smirked down at her. Honestly! This man could be too much at times.

"I said: I _think_ I'm the Moon Princess and that you, yes _you_ , are the Prince that the General and I talked about." Silence fell between them as they stared at each other's eyes, trying to read the feelings both were hiding from each other.

"... So, how likely is this to be just a weird way of saying you have a crush on me?"

"YOU _JERK_! I am _**trying**_ to tell you something serious!" Face flushing, Usagi began to whack him on his arms, completely done with his teasing. Yet a small part of her couldn't help but relax in relief that he wasn't running away screaming, but treating her normally. Normally for him, that is.

Bursting into chuckles, Mamoru pulled her into a hug as she pouted into his chest.

' _Honestly! This guy can be too much.'_

Mamoru placed his chin on her head, as he gently rocked them, his chuckles dying off as the vibrations slowed from his chest.

"...It makes sense I guess. Me being that Prince in those dreams. The General sounds like one of my brothers, though I recall him being more of a sarcastic, sassy, smug twit with a heart of gold." She could see it, dream Jadeite had managed to hide a lot of sarcasm and bite through fake words of flattery, but Usagi knew an asshole when she saw one.

"...So he was like you?" She teased him back, now that he wasn't running off screaming that she's crazy.

"Hey! I was never as bad as him!" The amount of offence in his tone caused Usagi to burst into relieved giggles. She was just so happy he had believed her.

Of course, Mamoru, being Mamoru, couldn't just let this end on a happy note. Oh no, he had to go and make things serious again. Jerk.

"He's a bad guy now isn't he?" **Bad guy** was putting it lightly; it seemed that the General was one of the heads in charge of the Negaverse.

"Yes."

"...Is there any way to save him?" Closing her eyes in sadness, Usagi was reminded that this man was probably the one Mamoru knew as 'brother' in his past life. How painful must it be to know your loved ones, your family, became a General for your enemy after your death?

"I….I don't know."

"I see…"

Silence reigned once more as they both absorbed what they had learned from each other. Just as Usagi was wondering if she should try talking to him about their past again, Mamoru spoke up.

"So, if you were the Princess and I was the Prince… from your dream, it sounds like we were dating." Way to make it awkward. Pulling away from his embrace, Usagi slid back onto the bench, giving them some breathing room.

"A forbidden romance more like it. I was your dirty little secret." At least that's how the General had made her sound like, with the problems seeming to come from his realm should they be found together.

"Excuse _you_ , but who's to say I wasn't the one who was the dirty little secret? As a Prince, I'm sure I got up to enough scandalous shenanigans to make any father worry." Releasing a startled laugh, Usagi stared in bewilderment as he teased her again. His shoulders relaxed an inch at the sound of her laughter.

' _Was he trying to cheer me up?'_ Raising an eyebrow at his words, Usagi couldn't help but tease back. He seemed to bring that side out of her.

"Are you claiming to be a player Mamoru-san?"

"If only I was so smooth. No, I'm pretty sure I was the awkward duck of the Kingdom. Sticking my foot in my mouth when with all the pretty ladies were nearby, and having stuff spilled on me. See? Scandalous!"

Starring seriously at his face, they both broke into snorts as they laughed at the ridiculousness of this.

"Okay, you know what, that was _one time_ and you really have to learn to let things go."

Especially since he was wearing that ugly green jacket again. Honestly, sometimes, she wishes she _had_ brutally murdered that thing.

"Says the girl who will never let me live down the fact that I kept bumping into her like a serial stalker."

"You said it, not me!"

Smiling at each other, Usagi almost believed they would be able to finish this talk without getting serious again.

"In all seriousness, what do you want to do now?" Looking up into his calm, determined face, Usagi took a moment to try and figure out her feelings about all of this.

"...I like hanging out with you Mamoru-san but… I don't think I'm very comfortable with dating you right now, let alone in the future."

Trying to put her feelings into words, she looked back up and kept eye contact with him as she continued, "I ...don't like words like ' _destiny'_ or ' _fate'_. If I'm with someone, I want it to be because we both decided that we would be good together, that it was a _choice_."

"So, are you saying you would never want to be with me that way?" He didn't seem hurt or upset with the possibility. Maybe he was just exploring the idea?

Usagi searched his eyes, trying to see if he was hiding anything under his facade of calmness.

"I'm saying if you and I ever get together, it's something that will take a lot of time and a lot more work than just making jokes." She would fight anyone who tried to force her into a relationship just because fate said so. _Fate_ could go and kiss her a-

"Fair. I respect that." Mamoru gave her a small smile as he leaned back, relaxing from his tense pose. When had he gotten so tense?

"In all honesty, I agree with you. Besides these little meetups, I still don't know you. Plus, no offence but I like not going to jail." There it was. That _infuriating_ little smirk.

"We are 3 years apart you jerk!" She snapped Honestly, he made it seem like she was 12 or something.

"Well considering how much you like to tell me you're 14, I figured you were trying to make a not-subtle statement about your dating availability. Was I wrong?"

"...No." She _had_ been hoping people would get it if she repeated her age often enough.

"So, stay friends until we both decide to do something about any feelings of attraction?" This infuriating, confident, smug little-! Biting her tongue, she sighed in exhaustion as he gave a little huff of amusement. Smiling ruefully from under her lashes, she watched as his smirk became something more sincere.

"...Thanks for understanding." For all that he had teased her like crazy, he had taken her speculations very well.

"Hey, what are friends for?"

* * *

Getting home late, Usagi felt that while her wallet was significantly lighter than this morning, at the very least her friendship with Mamoru had gotten better. They had talked a bit about writing down memory-dreams in a journal and exchanging them every month or so over dinner.

There was also that little reveal of his about his health. Poor Mamoru has been suffering blackouts lately; he'll find himself missing hours of time, only to "wake up" in class or at home. One time, he said he had "woken up" in the school shower with his uniform folded nearby.

_'It was the scariest thing, he didn't know why he wasn't at home since his last memories were of eating some dinner.'_

It had been so brave of him to tell her that. Usagi knew how hard it could be to open up like that.

_'I hope my idea works for him,'_ Usagi had recommended a certain type of black body oil that stained easily anything it touched. She had told him that if he bought some, he could mark his hand with it and later try to find what he had touched.

_'Maybe this will grant him some peace of mind.'_

They had continued talking late into the evening on their developing friendship and comparing their strong reactions to each other. He had been very understanding of her concerns, and honestly, she hadn't realized he was also a little uncomfortable despite his determination to tease her like crazy.

' _Makes sense, he also couldn't control himself around me. That would have upset someone like him.'_ Putting her keys into the door, Usagi stopped as she felt a darkness surge in the air. Generic evil laughter filled the air as she slowly turned around. There, looming over the sky was a giant projection of Jadeite, smirking down at the city.

"Hear me, I am General Jadeite. Now, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury and you too, Moonlight Knight. Come to Hanade Airport at 1 AM tomorrow night. Be at Runway F. If not…" Trailing off, he seemed to take a step back before breathing fire down into the city. Screams and cries filled the air as the people panicked into the streets.

Snapping his fingers seriously, the flames disappeared, proving that they were nothing but an illusion.

"If you are late, I will turn Tokyo into a sea of flames. Also, **ALL** of you must be there, or _else_."

He seemed to disappear into nothing, taking the darkness with him and returning the night sky to normal.

Leaning heavily against the door, Usagi almost fell to the ground as her mother opened it in a panic. Looks like everyone was staying up late, as her father made calls with his company and her mom spoke with the neighbours about what had just happened. Shingo was staring at the TV, taking notes as the news reports started to speak about what procedures could the public expect from the police and speculations on who this Moonlight Knight was.

"So cool! I _knew_ there was a third member! Knight sounds so much cooler than the Scouts, I hope we get to see him soon!"

Choking from the misconception that her alter ego was a male, Usagi tiredly grabbed the ringing phone as she made her way to the Kitchen.

"Hello?" Of all the people Usagi expected to call her, Mamoru was _not_ the first one on the list.

"I remember now! He's not evil!" He must be talking about Jadeite.

"...Mamoru, I hate to break this to you but he _just_ threatened to burn an entire city down to make some superheroes go to his little party. That sounds pretty evil to me." It was always so hard when family hurt you like-

"He was brainwashed!" he argued, sounding both relieved and upset at the notion.

' _...Or maybe that happened instead.'_ She thought bemused, _'I wonder…I haven't used my energy in a very long time… Maybe it could heal him?'_

"...' kay, by who?" Did he have another dream since they last talked?

"A woman with long red hair and purple eyes." Okay, so that wasn't much to go with, even if those were some rare genetics being displayed. Maybe he'd remember a bit more if she asked?

"That is very specific. This woman wouldn't happen to have a name would she?"

"...I can't remember."

She sighed, " Okay first of: go to bed, you are tired enough as it is. Second: I'm sure the Knight and Scouts will do their best to deal with this, and third...I'm glad he's not a _real_ bad guy."

At the very least, she was glad for him that he hadn't been betrayed like that.

"Thanks, Usagi-san. Sorry to call you like this." He sounded so exhausted, Usagi prayed that he would manage at least a few hours of rest after.

"Don't worry about it. See you later."

Now to get in contact with the cat and her squad. Ugh.

* * *

' _Escaping her house hadn't been easy,'_ Usagi thought as she made her way up the temple stairs. Looking at the starry sky she wished that Naru could have come with her.

_'Though knowing Naru, she would have been tempted to strangle someone before the end of the meeting.'_ Daydreaming of the thought of her friend punting Luna, Usagi wondered if it was too much to hope that they had changed during the time she had been gone.

"Well, if it isn't little Miss quitter."

_' Guess some things never change.'_

Standing in the courtyard was the raven-haired priestess, scowling in anger as she looked Usagi over.

"The fate of the city is at stake and you come to us wearing _that_?"

Looking at her outfit, Usagi wondered what was wrong with it now? Black combat boots, with plaid moss pants, black crop tank top and a brown open sweater. Various chains of different lengths hung from her neck. Perfectly casual in Usagi's eyes. Even her hair was in a more simple style than usual, as she was sporting a side woven ponytail.

"...Yeah?" Usagi stared as Rei turned red in the face at her blazé response.

"Unbelievable!" She seemed to be gearing up for a series of more complaints when Ami stepped out of the temple, Luna walking not far behind.

"Rei, I think we have more important concerns than Usagi-san's outfit styles. We need to decide what to do regarding Jadeite's _invitation_ for tonight." Ami had changed, in the time Usagi had been gone, "If we don't show the whole city will burn."

There were bags under her eyes, and her skin tone was much paler than before. Even Rei looked a little haggard, hair messed up more than usual and a sleep-deprived look on her face. Both had lost weight and seemed to be more ragged-looking than usual.

' _What on earth had happened to them?'_

"Isn't it obvious? We have to go! We must always face evil's challenge!" Rei seemed to perk up at the idea of fighting some more youma, and Usagi wondered if she had been using it as stress relief with the fervour she was showing.

"But we'd be walking right into a trap!" Ami's exasperation deeply satisfied Usagi. Finally, someone was getting the fact that you need to have _some_ form of a plan when dealing with General.

"Maybe. But even so, we have to!" Rei kept smiling as she spoke, which just made Usagi deeply uncomfortable. At least Ami had a more serious, and worried look compared to Rei's almost manic delight.

Luna stepped forward, staring at Usagi with calm, calculating eyes. "What do you think Usagi-san?"

"Oh I'm sorry, you actually want my opinion? I thought I was just a lowly Knight to serve whatever whims you guys decide to do."

"You are. However, Ami-san has been pleading on your behalf as we still haven't found the other Scouts. This is all temporary mind you, but I am not so unreasonable as to deny my girls my support." The fucking cat looked so proud of herself as if she was doing Usagi a big-ass favour extending some common courtesy.

Rei looked accepting yet disgruntled at Luna's words, while Ami kept her face blank as she stared at Usagi. Feeling more lost than ever, Usagi wondered if it would be petty of her to just be difficult.

"Well? Are you gonna give your opinion or stare stupidly all night? We don't have a lot of time left." Rei seemed to just spiral into a rage if someone didn't answer immediately. What a pain. And frankly, a little alarming.

"It's obvious that we only have one option, so hurry up and put your two yen in so we can get this show on the road. We need to go beat up bad guys!"

"No, we need to make a plan. We can't go in blind against Jadeite." Ami was finally applying herself to the situation; Usagi decided that nurturing this growth was more favourable long term than dealing with their condescending manner towards her opinion.

"I agree with Ami-san. We need a plan. Especially since I am not as in tune with you two, fighting wise." Usagi wondered if her words would even count by the look of Rei's face. "Plus we might have some additional trouble with any idiot who saw that illusion and is curious enough to go to the airport."

' _Plus I have a bad feeling about this.'_ Usagi had felt uneasy as she had left home; her mother had seemed restless and her father had been more affectionate than usual. ' _I hope her health is okay.'_

"Exactly. First, we should figure out how to deal with the police, and any other civilian who is going to get in the way." Ami had become better, Usagi felt herself wonder if she could hope for better times with this small improvement.

"You're so smart Ami! As expected from the Scout of Wisdom!" Nope. Guess not.

Starring flabbergasted as the cat praised Ami for something Usagi had just literally said was…A truly unique experience.

' _This is gonna be a long,_ _ **long**_ _night.'_ She thought as Ami continued to outline what she had heard from various people throughout the day.

* * *

Ami stared dispassionately as they made their way to the Monorail Haneda Line Train. This whole experience really hadn't ended up being like she thought it would have. While Rei was a good friend to have, Ami was uncomfortable at how she could steamroll others' opinions so easily. A trait that she both admired and envied in her fellow Scout.

' _And then there is Usagi-san.'_ Her classmate had revealed to be a difficult team member, though she did have a lot of good advice. Ami was glad they had transformed before arriving at the train, she had never thought that maybe Jadeite would find out their real identities through any surveillance he had of the area.

' _She can be a good team member, so why does she have to be so difficult?'_ Reaching the platform, Ami sighed in frustration as she realized they had missed the last train.

"Ugh! See?! This wouldn't have happened if we had just booked it here instead of transforming and wasting time planning for minor things!" While Rei's anger was understandable, Ami stood by what she said; their previous battles had suffered due to a lack of planning. Many of the cruise guests had gotten hurt during their fight with the monster, and Dreamland had been catastrophic in its property damage.

' _Not to mention the monsters keep changing into human corpses when either Rei or myself kill them. So why is Usagi-san so different?'_ Puzzles upon puzzles plagued her mind as Rei grouched about having to take a taxi. Poor girl really was overworked, it wasn't easy going to school and having a part-time job. Ami could emphasize as she had had to skip two more cram school classes for these fights.

' _I can't let my education suffer. As the Scout of Wisdom, I need more knowledge to be able to help Luna find our Princess.'_ A loud noise brought her out of her musings as a train turned on and opened its doors in front of them.

"Heh. Looks like Jadeite doesn't want to wait for us to get there late. Just what I was hoping for." Rei grinned as she made her way to step inside, ignoring Usagi's warnings of a trap.

Stepping through the doors, Ami subtly looked around, spotting a variety of different cameras all pointed exactly in their direction. It looks like Jadeite had infiltrated the security systems, just as Usagi had predicted.

The train seemed to be travelling at a much faster speed than safety parameters permitted, allowing for them to arrive at a far quicker time. Making their way to the airport, Usagi sniped the security cameras as they got inside the building.

Readying her Bubble Spray, Ami aimed for the lobby, as that was where the majority of the police officers were.

"Behind you!" Rei snarled as she threw charged sutras at the attacking officers, freezing them in place as she knocked them out. Releasing her bubble blast, Ami smiled slightly as Usagi started attacking the other police officers who had been coming their way.

From their movements, Ami could tell they were being controlled; the staff at the cruise and at Dreamland had been the same.

Making their way to the runway, another group of humans laid in wait. Some were taller and bulkier than the average Japanese person, while others were reporters, all walking in a dazed manner and armed with a wide variety of weapons.

' _Looks like Jadeite has given us obstacles to drain and slow us down._ ' Biting her lip, Mercury prepared herself for the next wave. Activating her goggles, she noted that the larger opponents weren't actually human, but golems, while the reporters appeared to be there as both hostages and meat shields.

"Sailor Mars! The larger police officers are golems, you don't have to hold back with them. Just be careful with the reporters." Ami noted Moonlight Knight had begun to sneak past the enemy as they focused on Mars and herself.

' _Good. Everything so far is going to plan. Now-'_ Startling in alarm, Ami ducked an upcoming attack as Moonlight Knight deviated from her course to stop Mars knocking out a reporter.

"Idiot! What are you doing?!" Rei snarled as her leg was caught and pushed back from hitting the man in glasses. He looked like any average salaryman, though there was something about his face that was familiar to Ami.

"Don't hurt him like that! He's not as strong as the other police officers! These people can't take your attacks so easily!" She had a point, all of these people were less bulky than the officers they had knocked out in the lobby.

"Ugh! Then you deal with them then!" Watching Sailor Mars turn around in a rage, Ami ducked and rolled as she threw a huge Fire Soul Fire attack, melting the clay golems all in one go.

Moonlight Knight seemed to nerve pinch them by the neck, catching each one before they hit the floor and dragging them to a nearby emergency exit. Soon all 8 people were unconscious and to the side of the runways, hopefully out of harm's way.

' _It'd be a pain to have to deal with them again. Especially as they are a liability to our work.'_ Ami froze as she heard that evil laughter from above. Looking up, she could hear Rei curse and Usagi charge her energy crescent attack, before chucking them at the cackling General.

' _She didn't even let him open his mouth to speak!'_

"Moonlight Knight! How dare-" And again! Usagi continued to follow up her attacks, throwing crescent after crescent, upping the intensity in power to the point that they were blowing up on contact.

"Come on! We can't let her do all the work! We're Scouts!" Rei seemed to be even _more_ fired up at the competition, as she too started to throw fireballs at the fleeing blond.

Calculating which paths he would take to escape, Ami started to run to runway G, figuring the girls would eventually lead him there.

"You annoying brats!" Ami fired her Bubble Spray as he landed one of the planes, hoping to be able to force him off.

Ducking her attack, Jadeite laughed as the plane started to move on its own, aiming for her and the rest of the girls. One by one the other planes 'woke up' and started to try and trample them under their wheels. Jadeite seemed to smirk down at them as he made his escape, blocking their advance with more clay golems and readjusting the planes.

' _Here's hoping Moonlight Knight does her job and gets him before he escapes!'_ Leaning back to back with Rei, they both stared determinedly as the planes and golems advanced.

' _Looks like we'll have to destroy more public property again.'_ Ami internally sighed. Who knew being a Scout would lead to her vandalizing so many public spaces?

* * *

Racing behind the General, Usagi gnawed furiously at her lip; how dare he use her father against them!

' _I should have known dad's magazine would request him to come and get a scoop. They had sent him to Dreamland to find out about the disappearances, so why not an airport where an epic showdown was supposed to happen?'_ She mentally criticized, rolling her eyes at the lengths people would go to get a scoop.

Watching him land on another building's roof, Usagi wondered if she would lose him within the building. A bright red rose stopped the blonde from going through the door, however, and he turned to rage at the interference.

"You! Tuxedo Mask! How dare you get in my way again?!"

Aiming her crescents, Usagi refused to let the man have a moment of rest! Keeping him running meant he couldn't think, and that meant he'd just get angrier.

Tuxedo Mask landed on the rooftop with her and insisted on- she can't believe this, really?!- Monologuing as he flicked his cape behind him and readied his cane like a sword.

"Less talking more fighting!" She snarled, absolutely done with this shit as she dodged Jadeite's blasts and threw back her own.

With Tuxedo Mask attacking short range, it did mean she had to be more careful with her throws, but overall Usagi was amazed at how easily they seemed to fall into step.

Duck blast, throw crescents back. Dodge swipe, cane swipe and Jadeite was struck. Jump forward to defend blast, but then be pulled back as Tux used cape as a shield.

The General was panting like crazy as he kept up his fight against them, and moved the planes against Mercury and Mars. Say what you will about this guy, but he had mad multitasking skills.

Throwing her tiara, she managed to tie Jadeite down as Tux added his roses to her attack. Vines grew and spread, reinforcing the tiara's hold on the General, along with hurting Jadeite as the thorns pierced his skin. Struggling to break free, he summoned a plane as he yanked and swore against their attacks. Turning to look at her fighting partner, Usagi figured he might listen if she told him Jadeite was brainwashed.

"Tux, we need to-" A flash of heat passed her as Mars got close enough to throw her attack their way.

"Fire Soul Blast!" Usagi spared a split second to note that Mars had been smirking triumphantly before having to run away from the still active flames.

Screams of agony erupted from Jadeite's mouth as he writhed and flailed in the flames.

" _ **NO**_!" Diving to pat out the fire, Usagi ignored the burns on her hands as she begged the energy inside her for help.

' _He can't die! I promised Mamoru-san I would try and save his brother!'_ Light burst from her hands as it clashed with the flames surrounding him. Usagi could feel her strength draining as she poured and poured her energy out. Strong hands wrapped around her shoulders, as Tux held her up. A look of bafflement crossed his face as his hands lit up with a golden light, pouring his own energy and mixing it with hers.

Vaguely she noted that Mars and Mercury were still struggling with the runaway planes, keeping out of her away and from messing this up.

Slowly Jadeite's screams sputtered out as the fire finally died. In the ashes lay a stone statue of Jadeite, caught in his moment of terror.

Slumping against Tuxedo Mask's embrace, Usagi could only stare in horror as she realized that she had failed.

"Mamoru-san...I am so sorry." Tuxedo Mask twitched strongly at her words, pulling her out of her funk, as he stared at her strangely. She hadn't noticed it during the battle, but his normally white gloves were stained with a black looking oil.

Reaching out to grab his arm, Usagi stopped him from leaving as she inspected his hands.

"...How did this happen to you?" No way was he leaving without answering that.

"I don't know…" Staring into the masked face, Usagi couldn't tell if he was being honest or just a very good liar. Carefully pulling off a glove, she realized that his hands had a pattern painted on them that had gotten smudged by the gloves.

Stepping into his personal space. Usagi stared up at the uncomfortable looking man as she whispered, "Mamoru-san?"

Pure puzzlement stared back, as he jerked away, moving as if he didn't have complete control over his body.

Figuring she had enough energy left for this, Usagi reached deep down, and pulled up once more, gently filling her hands with a silver light as she reached out to touch his cheek.

Closing her eyes, she could feel two consciousness inside of him, one dormant but more dominant than the other, and one less formed, made more of instincts and a dying wish than a true personality.

' _No wonder he hadn't been sleeping well; it's been bleeding into his dreams and draining him little by little.'_

Gently cradling both consciousnesses, Usagi pictured the weaker one slowly passing along its information to the dominant one, until it had blended away and into the stronger consciousness.

' _Mamoru-san deserves to know what has been happening to his body, and decide whether he should obey those instincts or not.'_ Pulling back carefully, pain trembled through her as she fell to her knees before him.

Flashes of agony coursed into her body as a queenly voice echoed in her ears; ' _Seven pieces of the rainbow crystal will be scattered across the earth, being reborn over and over till my daughter is ready. The last piece, a sliver really, containing all aspects of the 7, will be placed within her. The Imperial silver crystal will not be able to be completed and appear without my heir.'_

Groans broke from his lips as Tuxedo Mask collapsed onto her, crashing both of them to the ground. Staring painfully up at the man above her, Usagi wondered if she had the strength to get home, let alone move from her spot.

Looming over her, Tuxedo Mask shook his head, as he breathed harshly through his mouth. Confusion continued to run through his face as his voice changed slightly.

"W-what happened? How did I get here?" Pulling off his mask in a daze, Usagi stared open-mouthed as Mamoru seemed to blink himself awake, understanding flooding his eyes as he stared down at her, eyes tracing her face mask, tiara and hair.

Wiggling her body slowly, Usagi winced as she carefully reached out, gently placing her hand on his and pushing the mask back up to his face. Flashes of pain continued to course through her body, but surprisingly they weren't as bad as they had been before. She dreaded if that meant it would hit her harder later, once the adrenaline had died down.

"You might want to keep that on for now. I'll explain later what's going on."

Dark blue eyes searched her masked face as he slowly put back on his mask. Still looming over her prone body, Usagi startled as he first placed his hand on her face mask, and then fingered lightly her tied up hair buns. Whatever she was expecting him to say, she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"...Usagi-san, is that _you_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cage Braid: http://m.makeup-mania.net/how-to-make-the-cage-braid-hairstyle/
> 
> The body oil is like Anck-su-namun's black oil lines that covered her body (from The 1999 The Mummy Movie)


	15. Chapter 14: Don't Count Your Chickens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Happy Weekend People! Here's the next chapter, so just a reminder that Usagi is not mentally a 14-year-old and so some ideas and thoughts will cross her mind that are more "adult" in nature.

# Don't Count Your Chickens 

* * *

Sky blue met royal blue eyes as they stared at each other in horrified awe and disbelief. He was still looming over her prone body, mesmerized by the depth of emotion in her eyes. He _knew_ those eyes, bright and familiar, they haunted his dreams.

' _Usagi._ ' He thought.

That was _Usagi_ staring up at him. Sure, half of her face was covered, but her eyes and hair, no matter the style, were the _same_. She was the only girl he had ever met with hair that changed from gold to platinum gold depending on the light. He had spent many a time being distracted by her hair, and could you blame him? She was the only person he knew with such a crazy length and a truly diverse repertoire of hairstyles.

Moving away from her, he managed to get in a sitting position before his body decided to remind him of the many aches and pains he had gained during this fight.

' _And isn't_ _ **that**_ _wild? I was in a_ _ **fight**_ _!'_ He still was having a hard time wrapping his mind around that. Finally, he had an explanation for all those bruises and cuts that would randomly appear after his blackouts; why he was steadily losing weight even though he had been eating properly. Or rather, he had thought he had been eating properly.

' _I should have been having more calories…'_

His memories of the past were a bit clearer now, after Usagi -or was it Moonlight Knight?- covered his head with that silver light. It seemed Tuxedo Mask didn't know everything that had happened, but what he did know made Mamoru's dreams more coherent.

' _I was Prince Endymion, heir to Elysion and next ruler of the earth.'_ Hence his dreams of being a prince _, 'And I was madly in love with the Moon Princess.'_

Glancing back to Usagi, he noted she had managed to drag herself up, wobbling and clearly unstable.

' _Was I drawn to her because of our past?'_ Mamoru didn't like how he wasn't sure about that. He had lost so much control over his actions these last few months…Were any of his decisions really his? Or some by-product of a shadow of instincts created from a dying Prince's wish?

' _Surely after talking with her, I like her for herself and_ _ **not**_ _because of our past?'_ Closing his eyes, Mamoru tried to focus on his scattered memories as Endymion.

Images of an innocent looking girl, with wide, naive blue eyes peeking from behind a tree flooded his mind. She really had been so unaware of the dangers of the world and very cute in her curiosity, Mamoru remembered how his past self had been charmed by her lack of guile.

' _She's so different from the Usagi-san I know now…'_ Opening his eyes to see her wobble towards the other side of the roof, Mamoru felt a spike of concern as she leaned on her knees for support. Twitching to get up and help her, he couldn't help but stay seated as she glanced at him sharply; a silent warning that she didn't need any help. Smiling helplessly at her stubbornness, he really couldn't help but compare the two versions. Both were loyal and warm, but this Usagi was far more selective on who got that loyalty. Both loved nature, but while the Princess was curious and innocent in her love Usagi seemed to gain comfort and peace from it.

' _Usagi-san…She's more mature and serious than the Princess.'_

Letting loose a small sigh of relief, Mamoru was glad that he met **this** Usagi. While he was certain the Princess' innocent ways would have charmed him, especially since she was so sincere in her feelings, he knew himself too well. He would have eventually gotten frustrated with the lack of equality in their relationship, especially if he felt unable to share his thoughts and opinions on certain things with her.

' _Unless my memories of the past influenced me more strongly, an innocent and very naïve Usagi-san would have eventually tested my patience.'_ Leaning back on his hands, Mamoru looked her over in her Moonlight Knight outfit. Deadly, competent and clever, with a core of kindness and loyalty, Mamoru couldn't help but be impressed that she had grown so much from one life to the next. _This_ Usagi felt more his type in his current life, at the very _least_ Mamoru could claim that. But was that _his_ type because she was _that_ kind of person? Was he doomed to like her regardless of how she was?

He really had to figure out _what_ he felt for Usagi. Before unifying with Tuxedo Mask, he'd thought she was this cool girl who he wanted to be friends with. But now? He had _no_ idea.

"Tuxedo Mask, the other scouts are coming up. You should leave." Her voice sounded exhausted as she made her way closer, eyes red-rimmed with unshed tears as she practically collapsed before him.

"I am so sorry that I couldn't save him." Looking at her fallen form, Mamoru recalled that the one he had been fighting against...the General, the blonde-haired man, _Jadeite_.

' _Brother.'_ Whipping his head around, he stared at the stone statue of one of the men who had grown up with him. Faint memories of a snarky, diplomatic General; a leader to his armies with a cunning, sharp tongue in the political game.

"Jadeite…" Reaching out, Mamoru wondered if he truly was dead. Feeling Usagi shimmy next to him, her hand reached over his shoulder and seemed to glow silver as she waved her hand over his fallen brother. The statue seemed to glow before disappearing into thin air.

"I've hidden him in my hammerspace pocket- yes, you heard right, I have another dimension for a pocket- and I'll meet you tomorrow at the arcade if you want to chat. Now, **go**." Her arms trembled as she tried to hide her exhaustion, lifting her chin in defensiveness with a stubborn glint in her eyes.

He sighed, ' _This version is so stubborn once she makes up her mind.'_ Mamoru couldn't help but smile at her actions though. She really was inspiring to see, no matter her form.

"Alright...Usagi-san, thank you. You've saved me in ways I can't begin to explain." She'd given him back his awareness and agency; Mamoru didn't know if he ever would be able to explain the depth of his feelings on this matter.

A startled flush crossed her face as he stared at her gently. Reaching out, he slowly grasped her hand and squeezed it in gratitude, before pulling away and blending into the shadows.

Just in time too, as Mercury and Mars burst in on the roof, followed by that black cat.

' _Was that cat always there? Or did she just arrive?'_

Continuing his journey home, Mamoru wondered if he should just call in sick tomorrow for school and his placement. He didn't think he'd be able to sleep at all tonight, not with everything swirling into a muddled mess.

' _Won't lie, seeing Usagi-san flush like that was...adorable._ ' She really did make him want to tease her some more if only to see how she would react.

' _Man, I need to figure out how I'm feeling about her and all this soon._ ' Plus he needed to speak to her about all **this** ; how she felt and what they would do next.

* * *

Following behind the girls, Luna sighed in relief as she spotted that Usagi still alive. For all that she was irritated with her insubordination, Luna didn't want to lose such a valuable asset.

It had been a hard few weeks, as the girls had struggled to defeat the youma - she should tell Usagi that's what they're called - and the strange corpses had appeared after they were defeating them had not helped morale.

_'It seems like out of all the girls; so far, Usagi-san is the most adept at purification. It's preposterous that a meer knight could have this kind of skill. She must have been a Knight-Captain, and considering the depth of her purification skills, one that has the ability to maybe,_ _**maybe** _ _one day become a Knight-Commander.'_

It's impossible that she would be any higher than that. Memories have been slowly pouring into her - and revealing more information on their situation as the weeks had gone by - thus giving Luna a better understanding of how things were back in the Moon Kingdom.

Circling the exhausted girl, Luna inspected her uniform as she tried to find a sign that Tsukino Usagi was a Knight-Captain. Back when the Queen had her personalized army, the Knight-Captain's commanded 10 Knight-Sergeants, each having 10 Knights in their squads, thus giving them a force of 100 Knights to manage.

"Hey, could you please, like, **not**?" Her face was pale, looking almost marble white in the moonlight and her golden hair was a more platinum gold. Her eyes seemed almost silver as she looked down at Luna, a worn and sad look in her gaze.

_'Something about this feels… Familiar.'_ Ami stepped up next to Luna and scanned the area as Rei seemed to bristle and glare at Usagi, her arms crossed in annoyance.

"Based on my readings it appears that Jadeite was defeated. The enemy will either attack harder, now that we have defeated their General, or delay the next attack as they regroup. We must prepare for both scenarios." Such a smart girl Ami was; Luna was so proud of how she had grown these last few weeks.

Rei seemed to have had enough of holding her tongue, as she flicked her beautiful raven hair over her shoulder, "You're welcome! After all, it wasn't like Ms. Moonlight Knight was going to do anything."

"What are you talking about Mars?" The girl looked fit to collapse. Perhaps she was more out of shape than Luna had previously thought...she'd have to fix that.

"I'm _saying_ that we only defeated the General because of _me_!" As she placed her palm on her chest to emphasize who was the one who saved them all, Luna wondered if she should interfere with the direction this conversation was going.

"What were you thinking, just standing there and talking to him?! Mercury and I were in serious trouble! Do you have any idea how much I risked trying to get close enough to attack him like that?"

Her poor Scouts, they really _should_ have reworked the plan so one of them would face Jadeite instead of Moonlight Knight.

"...Sorry." Both Rei and Luna paused and stared as Usagi just swayed on her knees, barely able to keep her eyes open. Exchanging a glance with each other, they both worriedly looked at Ami, who had already brought out her goggles to scan the Moonlight Knight.

"...Is she concussed? Moonlight Knight actually _apologized_ …" Rei murmured, all wind gone from her sails as Mercury circled Usagi.

"Her energy levels are dangerously low. We have to get her home, and she needs to rest with no strenuous activity for at least two weeks."

"You mean she's going to be useless for weeks?! Ugh! We can't go _on_ like this! _Luna_!" Rei turned to stare at her incredulously, hands thrown up in the air in exasperation.

"We'll have another meeting dealing with all this later. First, let's take the girl home and get out of here. Before the civilians wake up and cause us trouble."

Usagi looked up from her daze with such a weak glare, Luna felt like patting her on the head. Such a stubborn child.

"..the...re..port…." She mumbled, causing Luna to prick her ears up and creep closer in curiosity.

"Hm?" She prompted, wondering if Usagi had found out something of importance during her battle with Jadeite.

"..The reporters, are they ...okay?" she repeated, barely able to open her eyes as she began to crash.

"Yes, while some guards and reporters had suffered minor injuries, everyone is well," Ami spoke up, leaning down to throw one of Usagi's arms over her shoulder while Rei did the same on the other side.

"Instead of worrying about others, you should be worrying about yourself." Rei huffed, looking sour as she hauled Usagi away from Ami, "Mercury, make us some cover. The last thing we need is those pesky reporters bothering us."

Lune beamed as she trotted behind her girls; they had adapted so nicely to this lifestyle. Perhaps soon they would be able to level up their purification skills so Usagi doesn't have to be with them very much.

' _Perhaps Moon Control will have some advice on what to do with this troublesome child.'_

* * *

The next day had Usagi wondering if it was worth getting out of bed. Her entire body ached while her head pulsed in agony. Never before had she hated the sun as much as she did at _this_ moment. Peeking out from her covers, Usagi looked at the time on her clock.

' _Okay, so, it's 9:50 am. Mamoru probably won't be there till 10:30ish. Which means … I have to get up…'_ Rolling off her bed, Usagi groaned as she stretched. Last night really had taken everything out of her, not to mention something felt very weak and fragile inside of her.

Placing a hand over her heart, Usagi wondered why that spot where the energy lay felt so weak. Sure, she had maxed it out yesterday but it always refilled pretty quickly.

' _...Did I break it? Is that a thing now?_ ' Feeling too tired to care, Usagi sluggishly put on a pair of jeans, an oversized shirt decorated with some random English words, and a giant belt to cinch it at the high waist. Throwing her hair in two pigtail buns, she slapped on some concealer to hide the worst of her bags under her eyes. Nothing special, just very casual.

' _He can handle me as I am or not at all.'_ She thought, hobbling down the stairs and seeing a note pinned on the fridge.

It said that her mother had to go to the hospital with her dad, but no worries; everything was fine. They just wanted to do a check-up since he was involved with a monster attack yesterday night.

' _Thank goodness he's okay.'_ As much of a pain, it was to work with Mercury and Mars, they had been decent in bringing her back home. Like, that hadn't stopped Mars from bitching at her, but at least she didn't dump her in front of her house.

Checking up on Shingo, still asleep with no plans to wake up anytime soon, she headed out down the street and towards what would be a very uncomfortable discussion. Usagi knew that Mamoru was charmed by her; he had a little boy's style of showing it, pulling her pigtails and such.

' _Yet, I wonder, will he now start to think we are destined for each other and push for more?'_ Usagi was very self-aware in that she is a very pretty young girl. Adding in her long blonde hair and blue eyes? Well, let's just say that she has had more than enough of suitors who can't take 'no' for an answer.

Spotting his ugly green jacket - honestly, does the man not have more than one jacket?- Usagi gave a small smile as he turned around and gave her a little wave. He looked fresh as a daisy, with not a single hair out of place. The paleness of his skin betrayed him, otherwise, no one else would notice something was wrong.

_I actually really like this guy; we work well together and he has good energy. I just don't want to date him. At least, not right now. I hope he respects that and doesn't make this weird.'_ Jogging up to him, they exchanged some small talk before Usagi decided to just jump right in and ask to go to his house.

"I just don't feel comfortable having this discussion in public." Looking away as she forced herself to be as honest as possible with this guy, she muttered, "Plus...I trust you."

A soft chuckle caught her attention as he gestured towards his motorcycle. Holding his helmet out at her, Usagi grinned at his sheepish reply.

"Thanks, Usagi-san. I really appreciate that. Shall we?"

"Yeah." Clasping his hand after putting on the helmet, Usagi hoped that whatever happened they would be able to remain friends.

* * *

Sitting awkwardly in front of each other, Usagi looked at the beautiful apartment. Now that she wasn't trying to sneak out, she could appreciate the calm tones and comfortable yet tasteful furniture. Sipping her hot cup of coffee, Usagi wondered if she should try to address the issue first or let him bring it up

"Usagi-san...I know we kinda talked about this before when you told me about your dreams," He gently placed his coffee cup down on the saucer as he leaned forward, weaving his fingers together in front of his face as serious, dark blue eyes met her bewildered-looking ones, "So I just want to say this upfront. I like you. I am attracted to you. However…"

Flinching slightly at his words, Usagi braced herself.

"I don't feel comfortable trying anything with you." Bowing his head slightly in apology, Mamoru began to ramble as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, but I just found out that my body kept being hijacked by my past life's dying will, to _protect_ you."

Staring with a flabbergasted look, Usagi watched as he bowed even lower, avoiding her eyes as he talked on and on.

"- and while I would of _course_ help if I'm able, I really want to know that it's my choice and not some echo of the past. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't know if my attraction to you is something healthy. Though I admit I might still look you over once or twice because you are _very_ pretty, I _swear_ I don't want to start anything. I just-"

Usagi watched as he broke off, biting his lips in frustration before looking into her eyes again.

"I don't remember _this_ life's past very well yet, and I'm still trying to figure myself out. I am not _ready_ for **forever** just yet." Speaking slower, he paused before finishing his final thought, "I don't know yet if what **I** really want is a relationship with you."

Relieved laughter burst from her lips as she tried to not show how happy she was about all of this.

"I swear I'm not laughing at you Mamoru-san, it's just…" Whipping stray tears from the corner of her eyes, Usagi flashed him a big smile as she tried to get her words together, "I was so worried about our friendship dying a horrible death today because one of us decided to push for a relationship because of ' _fate'_ or something."

Reaching across the coffee table, she gently clasped his hands as she looked into his face.

"I really like you as a person Mamoru, and as a friend. I think we could maybe work out if we started to date, but I'm not comfortable not knowing if it's because of past lives' feelings or fate bullshit. Plus I don't think I'm ready for a serious relationship." Tilting her head to the side, she gave his understanding face a mischievous little smile, "I am still 14 years old after all."

"Yeah. Like I said earlier, **fate** might decide that we keep meeting, but **we** can decide what kind of relationship we are going to have."

Staring into each other's relieved smiling faces, Usagi felt like she could burst in happiness. She got to keep her friend, and no extra drama had to occur.

' _I can't wait till I tell Naru about all of this.'_ Usagi slowly pulled away from Mamoru as they leaned back into their couches. Just as she was going to pick up her coffee cup, a surge of energy whirled around them. Her dimensional pocket was acting up as it spat out the Jadeite statue and closed up again.

"...Was that supposed to happen?" Mamoru had stood up during all this commotion, his body in a weird defensive position.

"No...It wasn't." Creeping closer, Usagi wondered why that had happened. Was it actually too big for the dimensional pocket?

Cracks started to appear on the statue; they spread quickly across the surface, further breaking the Jadeite statue apart. Once the whole statue had been covered in cracks, it shattered into a million pieces, leaving behind a _very_ naked young man, looking bewildered as he dazedly blinked at them in shock.

' _...Who knew that such a short man, could be so_ _ **big**_ _in other areas?'_ Usagi wondered, absently hearing Mamoru gasp out the man's name in panic.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Jadeite is like 5'3 in Sailor Moon Crystal with Usagi being 5'0. So for a guy, he is significantly shorter than Usagi is expecting.
> 
> Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns! 😊


	16. Chapter 15: Into the Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: HEY GUYS SORRY FOR THE LATE POST! Technically it's still Sunday so I'm not tooo late. RL and Work was a huge pain this week. Deadlines on Deadlines due! Hybris could tell you guys all about how silent I was on the writing end. Anyway enjoy the new chapter!

# Into The Unknown 

* * *

" **Jadeite**!"

Clutching his head dazedly, Jadeite tried to figure out how he had ended up in this strange place full-ass-naked. The pure sound echoed around him as if he had been submerged underwater and was coming up for the first time in a long while.

' _Why is everything so_ _ **loud**_ _?'_ Pouring a trickle of magic into his ears, Jadeite sighed in relief as the world grew quieter. Feeling centred now that the volume had been dialled down, he started at seeing two strangers staring back at him.

The man before him looked familiar, staring at him aghast yet relieved at the same time. The blonde girl next to him seemed to be eyeing him up, guarded in posture but clearly enjoying the view.

"My eyes are up _here_." He hadn't meant to say that out loud. Also what had happened to his beautiful voice?! It sounded revolting, all scratchy and hoarse. How had he ended up like this?

"Usagi-san!" The familiar guy seemed scandalized as he turned towards the blonde, slapping his hands over her eyes.

' _He has a nice voice, I wonder if he sings?'_ What a weird thought to pop in his mind, and yet Jadeite couldn't help but think he might be pretty good if he was something familiar about it though...As if it was almost the right pitch, but something was missing.

"What? He's hot and naked in front of me. I'm not _blind_. I'd have to be to miss **that**. Also, can you, like, let go? It's far too late for my ' _maidenly eyes_ ' Mamoru-san."

Huffing a low raspy laugh, Jadeite noted that she was sassy. He liked that.

' _Fiery spitfires especially.'_ His heart twinged in pain at the thought. The blonde's voice wasn't that bad either, higher-pitched; perhaps a soprano? Though how good her control was over that range was yet to be seen, her voice didn't grate to his ears.

Running his hands through his hair, Jadeite closed his eyes as he tried to remember what happened. Centring himself, he began to look inwards, trusting that he could easily take on the man and woman in the room should they try and attack him. Remnants of dark energy lingered, as it slowly disappeared.

Reaching to touch it, pain-wracked through his body, as memories returned of being a General in Elysion, his brainwashed actions by Beryl, and being put to sleep for thousands of years before being forcibly awakened again by the crazy raven-head-turned-red-head Queen wannabe. Hot, burning flames haunted him as they licked and melted his very skin and flesh. Ripping himself out of his mind, he hunched in panic, shuddering, as the phantom pains of his body being incinerated slowly receded.

' _I_ _ **know**_ _those flames,'_ Betrayal and anger coursed through him as he tried to figure out why he was feeling this way. Maybe Nephrite or Zoicite would know, those two always did find out-

Gasping in shock, he tensed as he swung his face up to see both the blonde and raven-haired man carefully trying to get closer; they seemed to have been calling his name for a while.

' _...Their voices are compatible, perhaps they sing duets?'_ What was with his obsession with voices? Groaning slightly, he wished this all made more sense.

"-eite? Can you hear us?" He had his hands out, showing he was unarmed; he had even hunched slightly to make himself look smaller. Jadeite felt himself lowering his guard a bit at the sight.

"Mamoru…" They exchanged a glance, as Jadeite tried to get his bearings, trying to magically reach out to his brothers and getting nothing but white noise. His brothers were still _trapped_ **there**.

Straightening from his hunched-over pose, he lunged towards the window, all thoughts focused towards getting back to the Negaverse and saving them from Beryl. These two people didn't seem involved with his situation and thus were irrelevant to his goals.

" _Woah_! Hold on, naked boy! You can't go lunging out windows with your bits swinging in the air."

The woman's arms wrapped around his waist and began to pull him back into the room. Normally he wouldn't mind having a pretty girl being pressed against him, but he had bigger issues to deal with right now. Turning his head to glare down at her, he vaguely noted something familiar about her face and tone of voice. Had they met somewhere before?

"Let. _**Go**_." He hissed, feeling his throat twing in pain again.

"Mamoru, help me out here!" She cried as he started to pull her arms away. She was stronger than he had expected, but no match for him. Plus her voice was getting too pitchy for his liking, he winced, rubbing an ear to coat it with more magic.

"Jadeite, stop! Please!" Dark blue eyes met grey ones, as the man grasped his arms tightly. Familiar energy poured from the man's body into his own as a memory of man, identical in face but wearing armour, cried out Jadeite's name in concern.

' _They have almost the exact same voice.'_ The man in his memories had an earthier, more commanding tone than the one in the present day. This one had a more youthful feel and a sense of innocence that was missing from the other.

Pausing, Jadeite stared intently as the memory faded away, feeling his eyes widen once he realized who it was before him.

"Prince Endymion!" Reflexively kneeling down before him, he vaguely noted the blonde being pushed back by his actions and landing on the ground. He did catch how his Prince flinched at the sound of his name; perhaps he was undercover?

' _That's not right, only Zoicite and occasionally Nephrite has ever gone undercover.'_ Something was wrong, why was Endymion here...

"Oof! Hey!" Turning to glance at the offended girl, Jadeite smirked at her irritated face as her eyes continued to stray towards his chest and arms. Good to know his physique was still impressive, at least he hadn't lost that during this cluster-fuck.

"It's your fault for being pressed so closely against my back. I did not place you there, though if you wish to be in my arms, you only had to ask." Her offended face was truly hilarious, though her eyes seemed to finally stay on his face. At least she wasn't as squeaky as before, truly her range in the high notes was to be applauded for, even if it did make his ears metaphorically bleed.

' _Why is she so familiar?_ ' Seeing her eyes narrow at him, Jadeite could practically _hear_ the girl preparing to snap back at him. Her energy crackled and swirled, weak and drained as she was. Something about the _woosh_ of the flow of energy reminded him of the winds under the moonlight, an eerie, ethereal sound, hissing that under its rays you were **not** _alone_.

"In your dreams _Casanova_. I doubt you lot practiced safe sex way back when, and unlike you, I actually care about my body's health!"

What expressive eyes and her range of voice was very colourful for such a young girl, rich with emotion. The eyes weren't his thing really, preferring shapely legs and round backsides. And a great voice was a definite must! But... if she kept looking at him like that then _perhaps_ he could be persuaded to change his mind…

Taking a moment to absorb what she just said, Jadeite felt his eyebrows raise to his hairline as he tried to make sense of her strange accusations.

"...How can sex be ' _safe'_? ...Are you perhaps one of those that enjoy knives in the bedroom?" There had been a particular man he had enjoyed duelling with, who had preferred knives coming into the equation when they had _enjoyed_ themselves in his youth. His voice had been a delight, Jadeite recalled fondly of making that voice sing under his ministrations. Of course, that was before he had met...who had he met? Flashes of deep purple eyes and raven hair crossed his mind, a strong passionate song followed by a searing flinched from the sight, his heart throbbing in pain, frustrating Jadeite as he refocused on the scowling blonde.

' _Just who was she?'_ Her manner of dress was peculiar and nothing like he had seen at court... He vaguely recalled the hordes of women from all stations trying to steal his Prince for themselves, trying to seduce him with all manner of outfits...

" **Ahem**."

Oh right. His Prince. Endymion didn't look too impressed with either of them as he crossed his arms in annoyance. Honestly, the last time Jadeite saw him wear this face Zoicite had managed to fool a persistent suitor into thinking Endymion was secretly a woman who pretended to be a man in order to inherit the throne.

"Usagi-san, do you mind stepping into the kitchen for a moment and preparing some tea, while I get Jadeite some clothes? I feel he's still very disoriented." There it was, that royal tone he got when completely irritated with them. His brother could be so predictable.

"...Sure, Mamoru. You can drop the '-san' by the way. I think we've been through enough that we can speak informally, don't you think so?" Ballsy this blonde. He didn't fully understand why they were adding things to the end of their names, but clearly that was an important thing here. Zoicite would have loved analyzing and dissecting this culture; he was good at that.

"...Thanks, Usagi." Watching the blonde leave the room, Jadeite wondered who she was and why she seemed to be able to take so many liberties with his Prince's space.

Flinching as another headache took over him, Jadeite wished for some form of clarity. Hissing out his pain, he took a shallow breath as his Prince placed a hand on his shoulder, centring him from the flashes of pain.

"...Is she your mistress Endymion? Because she seems a bit younger and less...innocent than what you are usually into." Watching his prince choke on air was mildly disturbing, causing Jadeite to get on his feet and give Endymion's back a few hard hits.

"My Prince, are you alright?!"

"Jadeite...Usagi is most definitely _not_ my mistress. She is my _friend_. A good friend, but _just_ a friend. **Okay**?" He looked so serious about this; how odd. Dark chocolate and cello strings came to mind as he puzzled over how Endymion had emphasized certain words.

From what Jadeite could recall, the only time he sounded like this when speaking about a woman was with the Princess-Oh **no**.

"Your Highness...Was _that-_ tell me she's **not** -that is to -say...was **that** _Princess Serenity_?!" Jadeite winced as his voice cracked painfully, still too dry and worn to be able to express the full range of his incredulous-ness. He wondered why he even bothered to hope that they had finally escaped that _woman_. His Prince had fallen so swiftly and strongly; it had concerned them all, allowing Beryl to wiggle in and…

Clutching his head in agony, Jadeite felt the room spin as more memories continued to pour in.

' _ **Fuck,**_ _this is too much!'_

Collapsing to the ground, Jadeite vaguely noted that she had come back to the room in a panic. The last thing he saw before passing out was two sets of blue eyes staring down at him in concern.

* * *

Naru poured Usagi some more tea as her friend continued to go on and on about what had happened at the airport. Looks like the Sailor Scouts were actually starting to plan out their battles, though the fact that Mars was so gleeful during battle concerned Naru.

' _I think Sakurada-sensei taught us about a certain type of warrior from world history class… I think they were called berserkers?'_ Naru shuddered as she recalled that apparently they would lose themselves in a battle to the point that getting harmed by them was a high risk for their comrades.

' _Could she be this kind of person?'_ Naru hid her frown as Usagi scarfed down her homemade high-calorie cake. Her clothes were still a little baggy on her friend's body, but not as much as they had been two months ago.

"-and then you wouldn't believe what ended up happening with Jadeite!" Usagi seemed to deflate, looking even more exhausted than she had been when describing the battle.

"Usa-chan?" A huge pause filled the room as Usagi just stopped talking, seeming to struggle in getting her words together.

"...Naru. I'm sorry but, I don't think I can explain the sheer scope of ridiculousness that occurred at Mamoru's place." Flopping over her coffee table, Naru wondered what on earth had happened to cause _this_ kind of reaction.

"Wait! Did you go to his house? _Alone_?!" Naru couldn't believe how bold her best friend could be, going over to an older guy's place, one who definitely had an interest in her. A part of her hoped that one day she would have the courage to be able to be so direct with beautiful people.

"Na-chan you know I'm older than I look, you can stop clutching your pearls." Usagi giggled as she peaked up at her.

Scooching closer to her, Naru poked her cheek as she leaned over Usagi.

"You _cannot_ tell me that something ridiculous happened with _stone-J_ adeite at that _hot_ older guy's place, and then _clam_ up about it."

"Okay, okay! So...first off, I forgot to tell you that Mamoru is like _me_. Kinda." Naru always hated it when Usagi got like this. Using vague language, forcing her to start asking a million and one questions to get a straight answer out of her blonde friend. Tidying up the tea set, Naru continued to talk as she moved it to her dresser since Usagi insisted on being a drama queen and laying over half her coffee table.

"What, like, he's a _reincarnation_ like you, or that he's from the _same_ era as your previous lives, or he's a _secret reluctant superhero_ like you?"

"...All the above." Startling hard, Naru stumbled and felt her neck make a weird noise as she whipped around to face a sheepishly smiling Usagi. Opening and closing her mouth in shock, Naru tried to find her voice as complete and utter bafflement filled her. She had been _kidding_ when she had listed those options! **Kidding**!

"What?!"

"Annnd, he's also kinda,thereincarnationoftheMoonPrincess'sloverwhowasthePrinceoftheEarth." Staring blankly as Usagi seemed to wait wearily for her reaction, Naru wondered if this was how the rest of her life was going to be? Her nearly wanting to strangle her friend for making things unnecessarily more complicated?

' _She is so lucky that I love her!'_ Naru thought as she took a deep, calming breath before trying to understand everything **again**.

"...Can we please say that again, but in understandable Japanese this time?"

"I said that Chiba Mamoru, _that_ guy, is the _reincarnation_ of the **Moon Princess's** _lover_ who was _also_ the Prince of the fucking Earth." Usagi enunciated angrily and precisely, as she seemed to really resent and dislike these bits of news. Seeming to deflate again, she mumbled an apology for swearing. "Pardon my french."

"...You mean to say that he's your _soulmate_?!"

"Nothing **that** binding!... I _hope_." Usagi pouted at her, as she honestly did not look happy about this at all.

' _Only Usagi would be upset that she found the one at the end of her red string of fate.'_ Sitting back down at her side, Naru gently laid a hand on her friend's ridiculous tense shoulders, and lightly massaged the knots out. Slowly, Usagi began to melt a little in her hands, as Naru tried to figure out how to ask her next question without further upsetting her, clearly she was sensitive about this.

"Okay, break it down for me because I'm a bit confused. We don't like knowing that guy is possibly your soulmate because…?" Naru winced as her friend abruptly stood up and began to pace the room as she grew more upset.

' _Oh, **shit** ake mushrooms_ _! Naru, you messed up.'_ She thought to herself as Usagi began to rant.

"Because that is another thing that I didn't get to choose! Because fate is screwing me over by taking away my agency!" She whirled in a huff, her hair swirling about like golden ribbons as Usagi looked down at her with pleading eyes. Naru felt her heart _break,_ as they seemed to cry to her for reassurance that Usagi wasn't **crazy** for feeling like this.

"Because I _don't_ believe in falling at first sight, and he most certainly is not in love with me and actually _agrees_ with my feelings on this whole shitty mess!" Her face looked so relieved at the reveal that Mamoru wasn't in love with her and was on the same page as her.

"Usa-chan…" Naru just wanted to hug her friend right now. Just try and hide her away from this cruel world that kept shaking up her life.

" **I** wanted to make the decision of choosing who I end up with. I **still** do! This is _my_ , god knows how many times, reincarnated life! I already _have_ to purify those monsters, or else creepy **corpses** appear. And isn't **that** alarming?"

So the mummified corpses were because the Scouts failed at purifying the enemy? Naru wondered if it was because she was the reincarnation of the Moon Princess?

"There's also some " _great evil_ " wanting to _hunt_ me down and **kill** me, so I have to deal with _that_ as well. Is it _too_ much to ask to want to have some say over my own fucking love life?!"

' _Wait wait! What?!'_ Alarm and fear coursed through Naru as her friend revealed that little tidbit. Just how _much_ did the enemy want her friend? And _why_?! It seemed Usa had reached her limit as she threw herself into Naru's arms.

Usagi gripped her tightly as she buried her face into Naru's embrace, had her friend grown taller? She certainly could feel her hard muscles under the layers of clothes.

"...Can't I have _any_ agency in _my_ **personal** life?"

"Of course you can." Placing a kiss on her sister from another mother's forehead, Naru decided that even if she didn't fully understand Usagi's choice - as it was Naru's dream to find someone just for her, someone destined for her love and her for his - she would support it.

* * *

Usagi loved Naru. She pitied people who didn't have a Naru in their lives; everyone needed a Naru. Already she was feeling so much better. Usagi didn't know how long they just stayed like that, cuddling and enjoying being in her friends' presence, but the warm orange-red rays of the sun told her that she might have to call her parents to ask to stay for a sleepover. She didn't know if she was ready to go back home just yet. Naru softly broke the silence, as she gently stroked her hair, causing Usagi to hum lowly in pleasure.

"So what happened after you talked to Chiba-san?"

' _Oh boy, where should I start?'_ Feeling mischievous, clearly, a good Naru cuddle was the cure for feeling like shit. _10/10 approval rating._ Usagi decided to tease her, just a bit.

"He was great, we're _definitely_ friends and after we chatted Jadeite hatched out of the stone. Like a chicken."

"Wait, what?!" Laughing into her friend's embrace, Usagi felt her tug at her hair.

"Stop laughing, this is _important_! How the hell did the general _hatch_ out of his statue?" Looking back, it _was_ pretty funny. The man's hair had been sticking up everywhere as the statue had literally cracked wide open.

"Like a chicken. A _naked_ , baby chick with fluffy yellow hair." She would never let the man live that down. _Never_.

"Usagi you are being ridicul- Wait! _**Naked**_?!" Usagi was impressed at how high her friend could screech. She might be able to compete with _her_ ear-piercing screeches.

"Yup. Naked as the day he was born. He was much _bigger_ than I had thought, _you know_ , considering he's pretty _short_ for a guy." Pulling back and grinning at her friend's stunned, bright red face.

"And _hmmm_ those muscles" Usagi gave Naru a shit-eating grin as her face went from fire engine red to a red-wine colour. She bet if she cracked an egg on Naru's face right now, it would sizzle.

"...I hate you." She squeaked, pulling away from Usagi and hiding her face in her hands.

"Picturing it huh?" Laughing as Naru frantically shook her head, Usagi gave in to the little devil on her shoulder to tease her some more.

" _No_! I am **not**!" Her red ears, peeking out from red locks, betrayed her.

"So, you _don't_ want to know about that amazing six-pack he's carrying? And how muscled and toned his back and arms-" Usagi laughed even louder as her friend snatched a nearby pillow and began to try to smother her.

"You. Are. _**Horrible**_." Grappling the pillow away from her face, Usagi grinned evilly as Naru seemed to just blush in guilty-pleasure.

"Don't try and deny it, I know your type Osaka Naru! Motoki-nii-san might be the cute older boy, but hot, _muscled_ **men** who make you feel petite and dainty are what you truly desire!"

Usagi smirked as Naru hid her face again, moaning about how cruel her friend could be. Laughing out loud at her theatrics, Usagi wondered how far she could push her friend when a menacing aura seemed to explode from beside her.

Naru's face was still red but her hands grasped not one but _two_ pillows. Giving the slightly terrified blonde a sweet smile, Naru raised both hands above her head.

"Usa-chan? _Prepare_ _yourself_ , because, in the name of the Moon, I will **punish** you!"

* * *


	17. Chapter 16: Delicate Negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: SORRY FOR THE LATE POST! RL had me tied up but luckily I had today off to edit and post! A HUGE shoutout to my wonderful Beta Hybris, who helped with a lot of this.

# Delicate Negotiations 

* * *

Staring at the cup of tea before him, Jadeite wondered what would happen next. Endym - **no** , his name is _Mamoru_ now - had tried to explain how he had been reincarnated and that _10,000 years_ have passed since Elysion and the Earth were _unified_ under one ruler.

_'10,000 years…'_ Running his hands over his face, Jadeite cursed Beryl. That bitch had had them under her foot for 10,000 years. He and his brothers had been asleep for most of them, 'tis true, but somehow the dark energy in his body had halted time's effects.

_'The scar I got as a boy from a fox bite is still on my leg. The stab wound from Spinel when their fight had gotten too serious still mars my torso.'_ This was clearly still his body from 10,000 years ago.

Staring at his hands Jadeite couldn't help but wonder… Was he still human?

_'People during the height of Elysian glory lived up to 1,000 years old. The higher their ability to wield magic the longer their lifespan_.' As a General of Elysion and Heavenly King of the Far East, it had been expected for him to live longer than the average citizen...but _10,000 years_?

Since he had awoken, Jadeite had been left hearing nothing from the planet. It's as if the people living here _had no magic at all._ Were these people really humans? Or was there a difference between being human and being an Earthling?

Sighing in exhaustion, Jadeite sipped his tea as he wondered what had happened to the men and women under his command. Beryl had told him they were too weak to survive the Moon, and that their ruler had decreed to bestow upon them the power needed to survive but…

A horrible thought came to his mind. One that made him shudder at his own body if it were to be proven true.

_'... Did she… Is that from where the Youma came from?!'_

Resisting the urge to throw up in horror, he heard the teacup shatter and spill as his magic went wayward for a moment. Closing his eyes, he curled into the table as he breathed, attempting to gain back some form of control.

' _One, two, three inhale...Hold...and exhale.'_ Taking shuddering breaths, Jadeite tried to focus on the sounds coming in from the open door to the balcony.

Cars honked in the distance; traffic is at an all-time high at this time of day. The rustling of the wind and twittering of the birds brought a small smile to his face. His Prince had chosen a good place to live, far away from most traffic and close to many parks.

Slowly relaxing his body, Jadeite drifted away into a troubled sleep, uncaring of the shattered porcelain and tea staining his sleeves. Memories of time long past, precious and painful in turn, filled his dreams.

* * *

_Golden light filled the room as the head Priest, Helios, stared among the many candidates before selecting Jadeite. His golden horn threw a powerful blast of Power that brought him nearly to his knees. He must have blacked-out, for the next thing Jadeite knew the room had been cleared out to leave only his mentor behind._

_It was if he had been blind, deaf and asleep all of his life, for suddenly his sense felt so much stronger than before. Colours had more intensity, sounds were nearly overwhelming and he could feel himself thinking at a faster pace._

" _Congratulations Jadeite, you are now the new Heavenly King of the Far East. You will report to his Imperial Majesty tomorrow, to meet your new brothers and Heavenly Kings." Staring into the scarred face of his mentor, Jadeite could scarcely understand what he was hearing._

" _But I thought there was only_ _ **one**_ _King?" He was still very young, but even he knew that the only King, was the King of the Earth and he ruled from Elysion._

" _Don't get cocky_ _ **General**_ _, this is only a holdover title from the olden days. Don't start thinking you actually are a king or some such tripe!"_

_As if Jadeite wanted to be King! Being a General alone demanded that he help run over 1/4th of the Earth; that was enough responsibility for him._

" _No, sir! Thank you, sir, for all of your help!" Excitement filled him as his mentor gave him a rare smile._

" _At ease soldier. You are a General now, and the Knight of Comfort and Purity, not my apprentice. Don't mess up and remember your role. Now get out and get ready for tomorrow."_

* * *

" _And just_ _ **whooo**_ _are you, hm?" Jadeite took a step back as the prettiest girl he had ever seen coyly looked up at him from thick eyelashes, revealing the most captivating green eyes. Her voice was so soft, painting a cute contrast with her wildly curly ginger hair and the adorable freckles covering her nose and cheeks. From what he could see from the cut of her dress, she had freckles on her shoulders as well._

_Gulping quietly, Jadeite tried to give her a debonair smile, as her lips slowly twitched up at his silence._

" _My name is Jadeite, Heavenly King of the Far East, Knight of Comfort and Purity, and General to the Heir Apparent, His Highness Crown Prince Endymion of the House of Elysion." Puffing up his chest, Jadeite couldn't help but grin even wider as he realized he was just a little bit taller than the girl._

" _Oh? Wow, what impressive titles for one so young. I am all astonishment." Fluttering her fan under her nose, Jadeite wondered if she was a courtier._

" _Many thanks, Milady." Bowing at her, he took a moment to take her in as she softly giggled at his antics. She was wearing a gold and green riding skirt, split at the sides to teasingly show some very shapely legs clad in pretty emerald green leggings. Her bodice modestly covered her chest, highlighting the gentle curve of her waist and the slimness of her neck and shoulders. Her beautiful ginger curls were loosely placed in a low ponytail, draping carelessly over one shoulder._

" _Permit me the honour of having your name?" Pearly white teeth gently bit a plump lower lip as she flirtatiously smiled up at him. He could feel the back of his jacket get damp with sweat as he wondered if he had a chance with her._

" _Dear General, is this an interrogation?" Hyper aware of her stepping closer to his space, Jadeite reminded himself to not stutter and stay calm as she grew closer and closer to him._

" _H-Heavens no milady. Merely an introduction." Nailed it._

_A dainty finger reached out and twirled on his chest as she leaned closer to his face. Her perfume was light and fruity, barely noticeable unless in close quarters._

" _My name is_ _ **Zoicite**_ _." So she was a courtier! In Elysion, many of the men and women took on the names of precious gems and jewels; as was the tradition in Court. Jadeite himself had been trained to join Court from a young age, regardless if he was selected to be a General or not, and thus had been_ _ **born**_ _with a Court name._

_However, Zoicite was a peculiar name for such a dainty woman; he would have pegged her more of an Esmeralde or a Ruby, hell, even Pearl would have suited her better. Still, she was captivating, and no man would dare insult a woman like_ _**this** _ _._

" _What a beautiful name. And if it is not too bold to say, you smell divine." His head was getting dizzy from the scent, tickling his nose and causing his heart to pound nonstop._

" _ **Heh**_ _. Do you like the smell of_ _ **snapdragons,**_ _General?" There was a hidden meaning in those words, but for the life of him, he couldn't think straight enough to figure it out. Plus Jadeite had never paid too much attention to the flower language used in Court._

" _I am growing most fond of them, milady." Truly, he was practically drunk on her smell alone; he had never reacted to a woman like this before._

" _So I see...Well, I must bid you goodbye. My duties leave me with little time for such delightful diversions." Teasing green eyes glinted at him, as she started to saunter away, leaving him weak and helpless as he watched her go._

" _W-will I see you again?" Surely this wasn't the end, was it? He had to see her again!_

" _Oh, I am_ _ **certain**_ _we will meet again. Sooner than you even expect." Relief poured into his heart, hoping to be able to find her again after he was introduced to his new brothers and fellow Generals. Her coy manner suggested she was familiar with his line of work, perhaps she was a relative to one of the other Generals?_

_He prayed she wasn't betrothed to any of them. He didn't know how he would be able to handle knowing such beauty was taken by a man he would have to claim as family. Perhaps she was partial to tea and would enjoy walking through the gardens with him._

_Not even an hour later and Jadeite felt like the biggest fool in the world. There, standing among the other Generals, was the beautiful girl with the laughing green eyes… clearly wearing clothing suitable for a man._

" _Ah Jadeite, have you met your new brothers? I'll introduce them from eldest to youngest. First is Kunzite, he is to be the leader of the Generals. Then comes Nephrite, part of the Information and Tactics division. And finally the only one your age is Zoicite, Head of Infiltration and a Master of Disguise."_

" _Good to see you again,_ _ **General**_ _. I hope we will get along well." This fucking bastard had been laughing at him the whole time!_

" _Yes, we all look forward to working with you." Kunzite seemed to hide Zoicite, as he stepped forward to welcome Jadeite. The blonde managed to catch the sharp glare the white-haired man seemed to give to the sheepish looking ginger. Nephrite sighed to the side, already rolling his eyes at the whole affair, and Jadeite wondered if this was a frequent experience._

" _Yes. I look forward to working with you too." Silently, Jadeite promised to get revenge for such humiliation. Especially since the bastard had the nerve to look even prettier as a man!_

_**Fuck** _ _his life._

* * *

" _Spread the word. The Queen is dead. The King has declared today to be a national day of mourning." Grief covered their faces as Jadeite clenched his fists in frustration. The council had decreed that no_ _ **outsiders**_ _would interfere with the Royal Line, obviously influenced by the head Priest. Rumours of a "Queen of the Moon", having the power to heal any illness had reached their ears, yet the Priest had been adamant that no other power should touch the main line. His words had more weight than the poor King's, and thus here they were._

' _Are you satisfied now Helios? The Queen is dead, unspoilt by the Moon People's power. But at what cost?' Clenching his teeth in anger, Kunzite's steady voice brought him back to himself._

" _What about Endymion?" Trust Kunzite to focus on their charge; Jadeite cursed himself for forgetting his duty._

_The head butler had a complicated look on his face, as he stared from Kunzite to Jadeite to Zoicite._

" _...The Prince is hidden away in the Royal Gardens, refusing to come back in as he tends obsessively to the Queen's roses. ...He has closed them from the public, allowing no one but staff to enter."_

_A soft flutter caught Jadeite's attention as Zoicite shimmered for a moment, leaving behind a cute black haired girl with short hair, dressed in a maid's outfit._

" _Well then, I suppose I should go back to work. Those flowers won't tend themselves, will they Generals?"_

_Nephrite might be the most adept at magic among the four, but Zoicite was beyond compare when it came to illusionary magic._

" _...Be careful with the Prince, Zoicite. He is sensitive right now…" Kunzite warned, already looking done with the day. "And don't wear your snapdragon perfume either. I don't want to explain to the council why the Prince is drunk on_ _ **aphrodisiacs**_ _."_

" _Oh, I promise, I won't_ _ **play**_ _with our Prince. Unlike_ _ **some**_ _, he is far too important for that." Sauntering away with a smirk, Zoicite purposely swayed his hips and accented how curvaceous his "new" body was._

_Glaring at the smirking man, Jadeite wished he would just trip over his ridiculous shoes; even if they did accent his legs like crazy._

" _Jadeite. Eyes on the situation and_ _ **not**_ _on Zoicite's legs and ass." Flinching guiltily at Kunzite's unimpressed face, Jadeite prayed Zoicite hadn't heard that. He would be unbearable otherwise._

_Nephrite's sudden entrance luckily took the attention away from Jadeite as his brother's sea-blue eyes looked about the room in a panic._

" _Nephrite. Report." Kunzite seemed unsurprised by their brother's panic, Jadeite wondered if Zoicite had already reported to him some special news?_

" _Horrible news. As predicted, Princess Eurykyda's health has taken a turn for the worst with the death of her mother_ … _and the_ _King has awoken Queen Metallia."_

" _What?!" Jadeite wished he could claim that news of the Princess's declining health was a surprise, but unfortunately, she had been born a sickly child and had spent much of her life bound to her bed. However, Jadeite had had no idea the King had been driven to such a state as to unseal Metallia._

" _The King is determined to ensure that the Princess survives, and in the face of the Council's restrictions, he has decided that Queen Metallia is his only hope. It is said that she was a being of the Earth and thus exempt from the Priest's stipulations."_

_Nephrite's skin was bloodless, as his body shook in obvious horror. It is said that Metallia had particularly enjoyed tormenting Magic users, to the point of insanity, warping their bodies and mind till nothing of their former selves remained. As the strongest in the land, his brother had the most to fear from such a wretched creature._

" _But she is a being of pure evil and chaos!" Jadeite couldn't help but protest, falling silent as Kunzite stepped forward and placed a calming hand on Nephrite's shoulder._

" _Calm yourselves. Grief can drive anyone mad. Who knows of what His Majesty has done?" Only Kunzite's tense shoulders betrayed his stress at the situation; Jadeite hoped to one day be able to hide his feelings as skillfully as his eldest brother could._

" _Solely my closest soldiers. The council will need to be informed." Nephrite had managed to get a hold of himself, yet Jadeite did not envy him the task of having to explain to those old windbags what the King had done._

" _ **Negative**_ _. The last thing we need is dissent among the people. Let them believe the seal has finally broken after centuries of keeping her under control."_

_Jadeite recalled the bits of gossip among the maids and soldiers and understood it had to be symptoms of the unrest in the Kingdom under the King's rule. They'd spoken of a weakness in the royal line, as the Queen had struggled to have any children and the Princess's health continued to deteriorate._

" _The Priest will never believe such a bald-faced lie. He was there when that_ _ **creature**_ _was first sealed away." Trust Nephrite to be the devil's advocate in such a situation. His brother tended to think up the worst of a situation, which was an admirable trait in a tactician but an annoying one when having him contradict you._

" _And it was_ _ **his**_ _responsibility to oversee the seal. The seal has been breached and, regardless of who or why the responsibility of it falls on him. It is better for the Priesthood that the ancient seal reached its limits, instead of admitting they are incapable of protecting it." Jadeite shivered as Kunzite gave a cruel smile at the thought of the Priesthood losing face for the seal breaking. It would be a silver lining in all of this mess._

" _Furthermore, the Priest has culpability in driving the King to this madness. If he could foresee that seeking out this Moon Queen would be disastrous, then he could foresee the consequences of not seeking her out." Jadeite couldn't help but nod along; Kunzite had a point. Helios always gave vague warnings about what would happen if the Moon people ever allied with the Earth, yet never gave any good alternatives when needed._

" _Jadeite, go find the King. If he has awakened her, then at least we know she isn't in Elysion yet. Her prison was further out in the Far East, so make sure to give warning to your men." Nodding at his eldest brother, Jadeite turned to run to the throne room, vaguely hearing Kunzite tell Nephrite to start scrying for where Metallia could currently be._

* * *

" _Where is Endymion?! He should be here by now!" Jadeite scowled as he watched the King curse at his absent son so publically, especially since it was all his fault the Kingdom was in this mess, to begin with. Metallia had given the Princess dark energy poisoning through a 'gift' that had somehow managed to get through their security, worsening her condition._

_This useless ball had been thrown to boost the morale of the frightened nobles, scavengers the lot of them, but it didn't look good to have their Crown Prince missing._

_Kunzite stood next to the King, face cold and blank as usual, while Nephrite spoke with the new court sorceress. Her beauty had been renowned among the courtiers, yet she dressed very modestly. A stone beryl decorated her forehead, and ears; a common style of the court to wear your namesake. Jadeite noticed her eyes flicker around the room a lot during her conversation with Nephrite; was she waiting for someone?_

_Zoicite, of course, had vanished into thin air. He probably was mingling among the masses as either a beautiful woman or a devastatingly handsome man. The fucker would probably get all the latest news by his flavour of the night. Seeing Kunzite give him a sharp glance, Jadeite got the hint and stepped forward with a bow._

" _I will go search for him, Your Majesty."_

' _There was only one place the Prince would be at this time of night…' Jadeite thought, making his way to the Royal Gardens. The Princess had been moved to the temple, to be taken care of by the Priests, and leaving the Prince to feel her loss more keenly; only the Queen's roses could soothe his pain now._

_Coming to a stop at the edge of the gardens, Jadeite held back a gasp as he realized his Prince was not alone._

" _I'm sorry if I disturbed you… I just wanted to see the flowers up close for once. They're so pretty in the moonlight, so I thought they had to be even better if I was in front of them." The woman giggled shyly, "I was right. You cannot smell them from a distance."_

_Jadeite raised an eyebrow as she practically floated towards the roses, completely ignoring the Prince and cooing over the beauty of the flowers. Her long golden hair was styled most peculiarly, two buns holding it up so it doesn't drag on the ground; and her manner of dress was nearly scandalous with such a sheer looking white silk, making the fabric nearly transparent in the moonlight._

_Yet…_

' _That innocence is real. Her body language and tone of voice hide nothing; instead, she is emoting so strongly I can practically see her thought process.' Wondering if he should interfere, Jadeite froze as he saw her face clearly for the first time. There on her brow was the symbol of a golden crescent moon. This girl was from the Moon Kingdom._

_His Prince's soft laughter broke his shock, as he crouched next to her and began to explain how to plant and care for roses. The look of rapture on the girl's face brought a wide smile to Endymion's face, one Jadeite hadn't seen in months._

" _And what happens when a rose dies?" Her eyes were impossibly wide, and Jadeite could see Endymion drowning in them. He had never seen his Prince act like such a_ _ **mooncalf**_ _in his life!_

" _Well, you can preserve its flower petals by pressing them in books."_

" _You can preserve them in_ _ **books**_ _? Oh, I can't wait to tell Mercury that! Maybe she'll want to do it with me!" She seemed to be pleased with the thought as she gave a little giggle and clapped her hands in glee. Seriously, how old was she?_

" _...Who's Mercury?"_

_Oh for_ _**heaven's** _ _sake! Jadeite felt himself holding back a curse as he heard the slight jealousy in Endymion's voice. He_ _**just** _ _met her! Why on Earth is he getting jealous if she has someone special in her life?_

_Having enough of all this, he stepped loudly into the garden, crying out Endymion's name. Seeing him stand and twirl around to spot him, Endymion's face grew red with embarrassment as he saw how unimpressed Jadeite looked._

" _ **Jadeite**_ _!"_

* * *

"-ite! **Jadeite**!"

Mamoru had come home to see tea spilt all over the table, with what remained of the cup in shards. Jadeite had been unresponsive no matter how loud Mamoru had yelled his name.

' _Considering he is recovering from being brainwashed for millennia, the last thing I wanted to do was too close. Just in case he lashed out as he woke up.'_

Trying to take his pulse had been a nightmare and a half since he was always hyper-aware Jadeite could wake up at any moment and react badly; **somehow** the man before him had **two** heartbeats. He didn't even know if that was a side effect of Jadeite's time with the enemy or a natural thing…

"My Prince…?" Exhausted eyes looked up at him, slowly stretching out the kinks in his body and absently pulling at his tea-stained sleeves. Mamoru felt himself soften at how much of a hot mess Jadeite looked like. The poor man seemed to be having a hard time adapting to everything.

"It's _Mamoru_ now Jadeite, not ' _My Prince_ '. I'm not royalty here." Mamoru gently reminded him, getting a confused look in reply.

"...Sorry. I forgot." An uncomfortable look passed by his face, as the blonde straightened up and attempted to help with the cleanup. Seeing the lost look in his grey eyes, Mamoru sympathized with him. He hoped he would be able to rebuild the relationship he had once shared with this man.

"Were you having a bad dream?" He quietly prompted, pulling out some ingredients and ignoring the incredulous look sent at him. He could cook just fine, thank you very much.

"No. I was remembering my time in Elysion as its General and Heavenly King of the Far East." Right, Mamoru vaguely recalled that his Generals had been called Kings as a holdover title from before his family's rule.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mamoru thought that no matter how awkward things were between them, they would never get better if they didn't try and meet each other halfway.

"...Do you want to hear about it?" Pausing in his cooking, Mamoru turned to look at Jadeite. They both stared at each other in silence, appraising whether they were being sincere in wanting to know what the other thought.

"How about this? You and I are going to play a little game. You tell me one story and I'll tell you one story back. That way we're both learning about each other." Mamoru smiled awkwardly at the blonde, turning to plate a steaming bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in front of him as they both sat down to eat.

"...Ok. But only if you tell me how you and Serenity met in this world again. It seems that _no matter what_ , you can't escape meeting her. Tell me, is she still easily entranced by roses?"

Laughing at the thought of Usagi being entranced by a meer flower, Mamoru began to tell the tale of how he first met the girl and their tendency to snip and argue with each other.

* * *

Glancing at herself one last time in Naru's mirror, Usagi wondered if she was doing the right thing. Dressed in sensible low boots, flared at the bottom black pants, and a simple grey sleeveless top with a black ruffled necktie, Usagi looked more like an intern in business casual; definitely not like she was going to a meeting with two other teen girls and a not-cat.

' _Thank goodness Naru was able to help me with my hair today, or else who knows how I would have ruined the look.'_ Clearly, her rocker-won't-take-shit outfit had backfired on her the last time she talked with the girls, so maybe her no-nonsense-let's-get-down-to business outfit would.

Hair pulled back into a high ponytail - a good third of her total hair had been freshly donated to Naru's ever-growing collection of wigs - it was split into three parts. The top consisted of a beautiful braided rose, the second part was just her hair pulled back and the third had a smaller braid weaving around the ponytail.

' _Like Naru said, "You can't let them see any cracks. Keep it cool and chic, with a hint of gotta act the part too, so proper manners all the way. Show them how childish they are!"._ ' Nodding to herself in determination, she applied a bit of lip gloss and grabbed her cute backpack.

Making her way to Ami's apartment, Usagi went over her arguments on why they just weren't working out together and how to move forward. She knew Rei would agree with her; the girl wanted to be queen bee and dominate the group, so it would make sense to get rid of Usagi.

' _It's Ami-san that is the wild card…'_ She mused, taking the stairs two at a time, before ending up in front of Ami's apartment. Ringing the doorbell, Usagi realized that Ami was the one person in the group that she couldn't predict very well, ' _She could go either way. Logically she should agree with me. Logically."_

Seeing the very person she was thinking about opening the door, Usagi couldn't help but worry about how drained and exhausted she looked. There were bags under her eyes, her skin was paler than usual, and her dark blue, long-sleeved turtleneck sundress looked loose on her body; instead of flattering her, it merely highlighted how much weight she had lost.

"Nice to see you again Usagi-san. Please come in." God even her voice was drained of emotion.

"Thank you...How have you been?" Regardless of her personal feelings for Ami, Usagi couldn't ignore that she looked like she needed some help. She was angry with them, sure, but Usagi wasn't heartless.

"My marks remain in the 5th percentile and my muscle mass has increased 13% since the last battle."

"...That wasn't what I was asking." ' _Okay, now I am concerned. I haven't heard her speak like a computer in a very long time.'_ While the Ami from before becoming Mercury had been aloof and studies focused, she had still been able to smile and even laugh every once in a while.

"...Things have been...fine. But I detest not working efficiently. You show great maturity in organizing such a talk with us."

The girl before Usagi looked like she didn't even know what _contentment_ meant. How had her mother not noticed how much her daughter had changed? What, did she get brainwashed by Luna or was the 'magic' of a transformation girl that strong?

"Ami-san...are you okay?" The deafening silence spoke volumes to Usagi, as Ami seemed to pause at the door, her back looking even smaller as the sun cast a shadow over her face.

"...We should hurry up and begin this meeting."

Suddenly, Usagi didn't want to go to that apartment; she didn't even want to get near the other Scouts. She remembered very little from _before_ , especially since it seems she has already lived twice already, but this wasn't **healthy**.

Gulping audibly, she took a step into the space, noticing how empty and cold it looked. Sparse photos of Ami winning awards and standing by herself was the most notable thing. Some awards for a Mizuno Saeko were framed, and an older looking woman with the same hair as Ami was featured in a few group photos.

' _But...there are no family portraits. No mother-daughter photos anywhere…'_ This didn't feel like a home to Usagi; this felt more like two strangers living in the same space. You could see the divide in the room, muted neutral colours everywhere, elegance and practicality married in the aesthetics. Books upon books seemed to be the only decorations in this space as if knowledge is the only thing valued here.

Gazing at the small space sadly, Usagi prayed that she was wrong. She hoped that her classmate had a warm relationship with her mother and that she was reading too much into all of this. Otherwise, she had the answer as to how her mother hadn't noticed the substantial changes Ami had undergone.

"Over here. I've prepared some tea and snacks." Ami stood by her room, holding a tray of plain white teacups and a plate full of oatmeal cookies, "The others are waiting."

Peering into the room, Usagi saw Rei laying against the bed, whispering to Luna as she wrote something on a sheet of paper. The raven-haired girl was dressed in a slightly baggy yet flattering red knitted sweater, with black leggings showing off her legs. Looking at her, Usagi could see how many people could be charmed by her. She's a beautiful, confident young woman who takes no perceived bullshit from anyone and enjoys being a leader.

' _...Well,_ _ **looking**_ _like a leader is more accurate…'_ At the end of the day, Luna was in charge of this group. So, really, how much of a leader can you be when you're being dictated to by an alien cat?

"You're late." Rei snapped, looking annoyingly refreshed compared to a tired-looking Ami, ' _Is Ami making all of the sacrifices now?'_

"No actual time was set for this meeting. I think your exact words were "after 3 pm." It's 3:05pm. If anything, I am on time." Honestly, it was this critical attitude that grated her. Why spend time with people who bring you down when you can avoid it? Usagi wasn't a masochist and frankly, this wasn't getting them anywhere.

"Hmph. Sit down already, let's get this over with."

"Thank you for the tea Ami." Luna purred as she sat on Ami's lap, giving her hand a little lick and cuddling into her stomach. Ami looked so pleased as she smiled down at Luna, Usagi couldn't help but compare her to a kid who had just made her mom happy.

' _...How intentional is Luna's behaviour with Ami?'_ Because Luna was not a real cat, but a cat-shaped alien person. Was the display of affection sincere? Or was it a pointed message to Usagi, a calculated display of affection to someone who might have little in her life, or something else?

"Ahem. Well, I think we can avoid beating around the bush hmm?" Sitting down in front of the coffee table, Usagi held back a sigh as Luna stopped her act and jumped on the table. Honestly, her little power plays were exhausting.

"Yes. But before we begin, I must ask. Have you recalled more of your past life?"

Suspicious of such a bizarre opener, as they needed to deal with their present-day issues, Usagi asked: "Why do you care if I have or not?"

"Because I believe that you might have been either a Knight-Captain or a Knight-Commander."

"Alright, and that matters why?"

"That matters because that would make you unable to obey anyone who wasn't the Knight-General, the Head of the Scouts, or the Queen."

"...I thought Knights only served the Queen?" And again the story changes. Honestly, will this cat never be consistent with her memories? ' _Note to self, talk to Jadeite once all of this has been dealt with. Clearly, the man would be a better source of info than the swiss cheese memory of an alien cat.'_

"No, Knights had their own hierarchy. You all belonged to the Queen and the Royal family of course, but the Leader of the Scouts had been known to work with the Knight General to organize attacks and protection for the Princess and the Queen." Looking smugly down at her, Usagi grit her teeth as Luna continued to lecture her about the hierarchy of the Moonlight Knights.

"The lowest of the low were the Knights, simple foot soldiers whose main duty was infiltration and underhanded but necessary actions to further the glory of the Silver Millenium. Then there were the Knight-Captains who had squads of 10 Knights. They were more skilled and could purify the dark energy that the Knights might have been exposed to."

Luna's whiskers seemed to droop a little as she revealed that the "purification ability" had been a personal blessing from the Queen so that the Knights could function without her micromanaging them.

' _That sounds like the only sensible thing I've heard from the Moon Kingdom. And how lucky I've got a ready-made explanation for something only Moon royalty should be able to do_.' She silently sassed, biting her tongue so Luna would actually reveal more info instead of vaguely making references to it.

"Next were the Knight-Commanders, they oversaw 10 Knight-captains and had even greater purification abilities. They would have had more exposure to the Court, so they dealt with the more political issues that cropped up in the Queendom." Luna seemed to perk a little as she waxed poetically of how forward-thinking her Queen was to educate these soldiers, and ensuring that they had extensive knowledge of Court politics and what duties were expected of the Royal Family. Especially since the Knight-Commanders would have worked closely with her and the other Court advisor.

' _Are you sure you weren't in love with her Luna? Because I didn't need to hear about her radiant beauty and magnificent intelligence. It's truly_ _ **revolutionary**_ _to allow your guards to get an education on how to maximize their efficiency at their jobs.'_ Resisting the urge to roll her eyes Usagi wondered what she had done to deserve this. Honestly, if this unnecessary rant was supposed to impress her by the so-called innovative thinking of the Silver Millenium, then it had failed. _Miserably and completely._

' _How backwards of a Queendom was this, that it only happened under the Last Queen's Rule? Weren't they supposed to have been ruling for centuries?'_ Usagi wasn't impressed by the so-called examples of the superiority of the Silver Millennium, or by Luna's near worship of the Queen. Another thing, disturbing actually to think about, caught her attention as Luna yammered on and on.

"Wait! There's **another** you?" Usagi didn't know how she would be able to keep her sanity if there was another Luna out there.

" _Moon Control_ , the **head** of our information network and the only person besides the Queen to work with the Knight-General. The highest level a Knight could aspire to." Stalking predatorily towards Usagi, Luna smirked as she continued with her findings that her purification seemed to be of the level of either a high ranking Knight-Captain or a Knight-Commander.

' _So not only is there another alien cat, I apparently have to deal with the one who didn't actually do anything of value. My luck really is awful._ '

"Okay, so what if I was a Knight-Captain or a Knight-Commander? How is this relevant?"

"Depending on which General we face now, we might not need your services. If anything, your duty would be to find the Princess while we deal with the next General."

"Are you conveniently forgetting that it took all three of us to deal with General Jadeite? _How_ do you plan to deal with the next General? And excuse me, most importantly, why weren't we told that there were more Generals?" Considering Mamoru had told her about his 'brother **s** ', as in plural, she wasn't really surprised. But the fact that _once again_ Luna had failed to say anything of real important value? That was **maddening**.

" _We_ were told. **You** weren't 'cause you're a _quitter_ who has _bad_ taste in men." Rei really couldn't let a conversation happen without putting her two cents in.

Trying to control the sheer, breathless anger that answer inspired in her was only possible thanks to just how long she'd spent recovering from this **bullshit**. It'd be one thing if it had been Scout-related information or just ancient history they'd kept to themselves, but this was the kind of information that would affect how she'd fight. Jadeite was a league above any other monster, and not knowing he wasn't an anomaly? That's how you get people seriously _hurt_. Or worse, **dead**.

Only when she knew she could keep her composure, Usagi spoke again with a sugary faked calm "How rude. I thought shrine maidens were all about elegance and refined manners. Pity to know how much of that is just false advertisement." Waving away the offended look on Rei's face, Usagi turned back to the still smug-looking Luna.

"Anyways, it's **shit** like this that leads me to my next point. I think we should break up." Clearly, Usagi would get more done if she had the right information available. It wasn't that she was against working in teams, but this one would be the death of her at this rate.

"Girl, where have _you_ been? You _haven't_ been a part of this group for _months_. We just had to team up with you because, as amazing as we are, we're only two people against an _army_ of Negaverse Youma." Rei flicked her hair over her shoulder as she condescendingly smirked at Usagi, clearly swallowing her temper and being as petty as possible to get a rise at her.

This time Usagi wasn't going to give her an inch, especially since she had a feeling Luna was using Rei to get another reason to exert her authority. "Exactly. I just feel we should make this **official**."

"Well, I am **not** in favour of this motion." It was things like this that ensured Usagi couldn't get a good grip on Ami's reactions. Did she really care? Was this her breaking point?

"Ami?/Ami-chan?" Rei and Luna's shocked reaction was actually a bit funny to Usagi; just how wrapped up were they in their own lives that they didn't know their teammate didn't want Usagi to officially leave the group?

"Our numbers are too low, and the next General hasn't revealed himself yet. I feel this is all too premature to decide if we need Usagi-san's help or not. Plus we have the new semester just starting, which means our school work is going to pile up again. I can't fall behind again."

' _Ah. I get it now.'_ While Ami's words were logical and did have a solid basis in tactics, it was her final sentences that said where her real concerns were; **herself**. Ami had been suffering under Rei and Luna's shoddy handling without Usagi overworking herself by beating some sense into their skulls, so Ami wanted her back in the fold.

' _And how_ _ **sad**_ _is that?'_

Usagi couldn't hold it against her, self-preservation was one of the most basic instincts. But Usagi had to look out for herself as well. Ami did not have her back now, and almost certainly wouldn't when she wasn't suffering anymore; she'd already chosen Luna and Rei once.

"Poor Ami-chan. You're right, we do need more support," Usagi felt her stomach turn as Luna rubbed her furry face against Ami's cheek, acting all caring and motherly.

' _Manipulative little thing. I see you now, and you will_ _ **not**_ _fool me.'_

"Which is why I am pleased to tell you all that Moon Control and another Scout will be joining us in roughly two months." Rei and Ami's shocked gasps brought home how much that not-cat had been holding back information with _everyone_. Not even her pet favourites had known this tidbit.

"What, is she another new member? Or did you just remember about her now?" It was almost sad how Rei scrambled to give Luna an excuse; almost.

"The Scout has been taking care of the European division of the Negaverse and has finally wrapped up dealing with their headquarters over there. Unfortunately due to hunting down the stragglers and the amount of purification that needs to occur, they won't be able to arrive any earlier."

Overwhelming _disgust_ filled her stomach, making her feel physically sick at Luna's reply, cemented her decision to never again return to how they'd started out like. There was no way she could allow herself to stay with someone who used important, _vital_ information as leverage over them. Luna had no memory excuse this time to try and defend herself with. This was cold, calculated manipulation to try and ensure everyone would fall into line under her command.

"So _they_ can purify the Youma?" Ami visibly perked up at the news that more help was arriving. Did Rei and Ami not understand what had just happened? Are they so blind they can't see how this alien cat is making them dance to her tune?

"Moon Control gave them a treasure of our Queendom that aids them in purifying the enemy. Seeing as how Usagi-san will now be working separately in our quest to find the Moon Princess, I too will be bestowing upon the leader of the Sailor Scouts a treasure given to me from the Queen."

' _So why didn't she give us this item sooner? Why did the Queen give it to her and not the other advisor? Why is she deciding on a leader now, instead of waiting for the other Sailor Scout to arrive?'_ So much underhanded bullshit was happening here, Usagi prayed this meeting was almost done. She just wanted to go home and get away from all this. The fact that their enemy was working on an _INTERNATIONAL_ level had really freaked her out. There literally was no place to hide or get away from it all.

"Now, normally I would wait for the other scout to arrive. But seeing as she has been dealing with the abroad strays and has yet to handle a General, I feel that you girls have more experience than her despite her having activated before you."

Stifling a snort, Usagi stared incredulously at the words coming out of this pompous cat.

"Seriously Luna? You haven't even met the girl and you're already deciding that she's not experienced enough to be a leader?"

"This has nothing to do with you, Knight. Remember your place." Biting her lip at the remark, Usagi reminded herself that the sooner she left the better.

"Get on with it then Luna, I'm ready to finalize this breakup."

"Yes, _ahem_. Ami you have been an exemplary scout, your growth has left me feeling nothing but pride as you continue to prove why you are the Scout of Wisdom. However, I feel that you still have a bit more to go before you become a leader." Nudging her head against Ami's hand, Luna gave her a small sympathetic smile. Usagi could feel her skin crawl as Rei stood up straight and smugly beamed at Usagi.

Poor, stupid girl. No clue what was happening and proud of an achievement that isn't hers. Usagi couldn't help but pity the priestess as Luna essentially said she was the only one left to be a leader since Ami wasn't ready. Considering Rei goes to an all-girl school you would think that she's more familiar with understanding doublespeak.

Jumping into the air, Luna gave a little twirl as the _Moon Crescent Wand_ appeared before them.

' _But that belongs to the Royal Family! Only Queens and the future Queens can make it work! What on earth is Luna thinking?!'_ A part of her **screamed** to take it away, to punish Luna because how _dare_ she give an **heirloom** of the Queendom to a Scout from a _different planet_. Yet another part of her couldn't help but be **relieved** ; she was having a hard enough time as it is trying to figure out who she is and how to remain herself, and not some past version. Maybe this was a necessary sacrifice to separate from that aspect… But she'd revisit it later when she wasn't reeling from everything.

"This is the Crescent Moon Wand. The symbol of the Leader of the Scouts and a priceless _treasure_ from the Queen of the Moon. Guard it well and use it in future battles."

More like: This is an object that can only be used by the Royal Family, which works as a Vessel for _another_ powerful object and as a training tool for young Princesses to harness their power.

"Yes!"

"As for you Usagi, as Advisor I sanction this break between parties. However, I'm sure Moon Control will reach out to you once they arrive for updates on the status of our Princess. So long as you continue that mission, you won't be seeing us too often. Best of luck." Look at her, acting so magnanimous about all of this. Pulling out typed up sheets of paper, Usagi laid it before Luna with an ink pad to the side.

"...Thanks. Now sign here, here and here so that I have it in writing." Her father had always said that if you can get an agreement laid out in writing, it makes it a lot harder for the other party to screw you over with baseless rumours and false information.

"Hey! Luna wouldn't go back on her word!" Usagi noticed that Ami was too absorbed in reading the documents over to note how offended Rei sounded. If they didn't wise up the whole planet was doomed… Assuming that she, Mamoru, and Jadeite couldn't figure out a way to mitigate it.

"I want some peace of mind. Besides I did say that I wanted an _**official**_ break up. Verbal agreements hold no weight." Especially if Moon Control ended up like Luna and tried to control her.

"Hmm, I can't see anything underhanded. Everything is pretty clear, and it's already stipulated that Usagi-san will continue to search for the Moon Princess."

"Let me see Ami-chan?" Luna peered at the papers, humming thoughtfully for a moment before going over and stamping her pawprint at each of the lines needing her signature.

"There. All done."

"Thanks. I'll send you guys a copy through Ami-san. Bye." Turning on her heel, Usagi reminded herself to not run out of the apartment. She wasn't scared nor ashamed of what she had done, so running wasn't in the cards. As Naru said, elegance and maturity are key.

' _I can't wait till I can speak to her and the boys about all of this….I wonder if anyone is free tonight? Even if they aren't, maybe we can squeeze in anyways. This isn't information I can sit on.'_ It was still pretty early, Usagi thought; not even a full hour had passed since she had arrived.

' _I'll call Naru when I get home. Goodness knows I need a bit of common sense around me right now.'_ Strutting down the street, Usagi let herself smile as she was finally free from the Sailor Scouts. At least, until they find out she's the Princess they're looking so hard for.

' _Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.'_

* * *

Naru hoped that everything went okay today for Usagi. Her best friend had stayed over the night before, letting Naru help plan her outfit and do her hair for her that morning. She loved it when she had a chance to dress up her friend; she was a great muse for Naru's many fashion ideas.

' _Things have been pretty quiet lately, I hope Usa-chan comes into agreement with the Scouts. I hate how they treat her.'_ Silently hissing at the memory of how that stupid not-cat had treated her and her best friend, Naru nearly tore her paper in half.

Finishing up the last bit of her homework, Naru wondered if she had enough time to pop out and buy some last-minute accessories for her Lolitta outfit. A park event was happening tomorrow, and she wanted to look her best; it would only be the second one she had ever attended.

Swooning at the thought of all of those beautiful short dresses and skirts - the lace and silk decorating so many pretty people and the cool designs people could come up with! - it made her want to get her sketch pad and design something bold and daring.

Making her way downstairs to let her Okaa-san know that she was going out shopping, a rich-sounding voice made her pause at the shadow of the door. There, talking with her okaa-san, was a devastatingly handsome man. His manner of dress made him look older, but Naru had been friends with Usagi too long to be fooled by the power of clothes.

' _He looks to be around Chiba-san and Motoki-san's age.'_ Though he was wearing a casual beige dress shirt and white pants, it did nothing to hide how muscled he was. Fanning herself lightly as she took in his long, wavy brown hair, Naru wondered if he was a new patron for their store. Looking down at her outfit, she was glad she had dressed up a bit today, with a cute long-sleeved light pink top and a pastel plaid skirt, with her white runners and short socks. She had even changed her hairstyle a little, braiding two strands and pulling it back from her face, with a thin white ribbon holding it back.

"-truly I applaud you for your bravery! It would be my honour to buy something from this store." Shivering at his voice, Naru cursed at how smooth and rich it was; with the power to make her weak in the knees, it was truly dangerous! She was very lucky that Usagi had been exposing her to beauty her whole life, otherwise, her brain would be already shutting down!

"Oh, Sanjoin-san is too kind! I am only thankful that the Moonlight Knight defeated that monster in time!" After she had been attacked by one of the first monsters here in Tokyo, their store had drawn in a new type of clientele that wanted to know all about her experience. They hadn't lasted too long, as this is a _quality_ jewelry store and most were not willing to purchase something. Her mother seemed to be impressed by him, causing Naru to question whether she should interrupt or not. This was kind of a sensitive topic.

"Moonlight Knight? I'm afraid I've only ever heard of the Sailor Scouts. Who is this other person?" Her friend was very good at staying out of the limelight; only very few people believed in the 'Moonlight Knight,' making her a popular discussion for anyone researching the Sailor Scouts. Someday she'd have to inform Usagi she was an urban legend like Mothman.

"Oh, before the Scouts started defending our city the Moonlight Knight was doing that job. Their gender is unknown, but many think they are male due to the 'Knight' part of their name." Holding back her giggles, Naru loved how so many people thought her friend was a guy just because of something so minor. That and the fact that she didn't fight in a miniskirt.

"Amazing! So many superheroes running around Tokyo! And you got a chance to see this Moonlight Knight?" Uh-oh, and we were back to dangerous territory. Racking her brain on how to distract her mother, Naru felt dread as she started to reply.

"Just a bit before I passed out, personally between you and me I think the Moonlight is a-"

Bursting through the doors, Naru tried to act cool as they both turned to look at her. Giving a huge happy smile, Naru remembered to keep her back straight as she sauntered over to them.

"Excuse me, Okaa-san? I'm sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to let you know I'm heading out. Also one of our customers called asking if we could do a price adjustment, as they bought their item thirteen days ago and it's now on sale."

For a split second, Sanjoin-san looked irritated at the interruption before putting a polite smile on his face.

"And you must be Osaka-san's beautiful daughter."

"Oh yes, she is my pride and joy! Such a talented girl! I am truly blessed to have her as a daughter." Naru blushed as her mother gushed about her accomplishments. She always got like this when someone asked after her, it was flattering yet a little embarrassing.

"Going shopping for clothes dear?"

"I wanted to go buy some accessories for my Lolitta dress."

"But your mother runs a jewelry store!"

"Yes, but I can't afford the piece I want. And since it's a more casual event, I am willing to wear a lower quality stone."

"May I ask what kind of gemstone where you are looking to purchase?"

"...A Lapis Lazuli brooch."

"You know, that's one of my favourite gemstones." Walking over to where the brooches were, Naru watched as the man picked a pure lapis lazuli brooch pin, shaped into a beautiful flower and decorated with small sapphires, black pearls, smokey quartz, and set in a sterling silver frame.

"It is a stone that is highly introspective and looks for self-knowledge." Holding it into the sunlight, Naru realized that Sanjoin-san had such cold and lonely light blue eyes.

"The natural colours of the stone have always reminded me of a galaxy of stars, swirling and revealing hidden truths to us…" Just for a moment, the coldness receded as a faint sense of warmth appeared in his eyes. Naru wondered why she was suddenly reminded of Usagi when she spoke about her past lives, but marked that impression down for later thought; that impression was too specific to not revisit.

Coming back towards the counter, Naru and her mother were spellbound as he placed bills of yen on the counter and handed the flower brooch to Naru.

"Here. A gift from me to you, as thanks for taking up so much of your time. I hope I can cross paths with you lovely ladies again. If you'll excuse me." Naru could hear her heart thundering in her ears as he sauntered out the store, faintly hearing her mother exclaim what a catch he was and how he could give Naru's father a run for his money when it came to being so smooth.

"Okaa-san...Who _was_ that?"

"Oh, his name is Sanjoin Masato-san. He is an up and coming entrepreneur who started his own company in stocks. He's very young yet already so successful. And he's recently moved to Tokyo and was exploring the area... Handsome, isn't he?" Her okaa-san giggled as she went to go call the customer asking for a price adjustment, leaving her flustered daughter behind.

Feeling her face heat up, Naru hoped Usagi would return soon. Clutching the brooch to her chest, she wondered why her heart wouldn't stop racing.


	18. Chapter 17: Oncoming Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Sorry for the delay. I had this chapter mostly finished weeks ago but RL just swamped me. I still work and am still very busy but luckily I have managed to recover enough to start righting again. Like always this chapter wouldn't be possible without my dear Beta Hybris. Give the woman love guys, she's been my muse and rock for this fic.

# Oncoming Storm 

* * *

"I'm telling you Usagi, he really reminded me of you! The way he spoke about stones and stars was so wistful and ...I don't know, it just reminded me of when you speak about your _past_."

Usagi smiled as her friend gushed over her meeting with Sanjoin-san; she must really like this guy to talk about him so much. Naru was surprisingly shy when it came to talking to people she found attractive, so the fact that she actually spoke to him without clamming up and blushing furiously? And it was for her sake? Friendship goals.

"A hot man raving about your mom's jewelry makes you think about me?" Raising her eyebrow teasingly, Usagi grinned as she casually threw an arm over her friend's shoulders.

"Geeze, Naru, I just don't know what to think about that comparison. Should I take it as a compliment that I'm as attractive as a hot man? Or should I be concerned that my speaking of the past is like a man raving over stones and being cheesy about them?"

Jumping away from her friend in peels of laughter, Usagi avoided Naru's attempts to tickle her in retaliation. Dancing up ahead teasingly, Naru called back to her in that little annoyed tone of hers.

"Usa-chan! This is serious! I'm telling you that I think-"

Usagi took a few more steps before realizing her friend had trailed off, stopping behind her, completely distracted and looking into the distance.

"Naru?" The red head's face looked puzzled, tinged with growing unease as she kept looking away.

"...Hey, Usagi-chan was that forest always there?" Feeling concern grip her heart, Usagi wandered back to Naru as she wondered what she was looking at, between the gaps of the apartments in the area.

"What are you talking about? You know our area doesn't have any forests, even the parks don't have that many trees." You would have to go closer to where Mamoru lived to get nice forested parks, which wasn't too bad of a commute and a great walk on nice days.

"Well, we do _now_."

Turning to spot what Naru was staring at, Usagi felt flabbergasted at the huge, new forest now covering the distance. It absolutely had not been there a day ago, yet here it was… existing. Whoever this next General was, he certainly wasn't subtle.

' _Note to self; ask Jadeite and Mamoru on the personalities and typical modus operandi of the other Generals. Maybe they can tell me what kind of thinking they had, and I can figure out how they're likely to attack.'_ Turning back to Naru, she gave her friend a little side hug as she turned to look worriedly at her.

"Three guesses where the new bad guy is hanging out and the first two don't count." Usagi wryly mused, hoping to get a smile out of her now worried-looking friend.

"But first, _school_. Right?" Naru perked up as Usagi nodded at her hesitant question. Continuing their walk to school, Usagi wracked her mind for a conversation that wouldn't add to Naru's worries.

"Hey, I heard a rumour that Rui-chan is playing after school today with the tennis club." It had been ages since Usagi had seen her; though Naru had managed to hang out with her before she went abroad.

"Yeah, her mom called last night! She's back in Japan!" Naru's bright smile and slowly relaxing posture gladdened Usagi's heart. She hated seeing her so tense and worried, especially over things that were Scout-related.

"I heard she did great in her tournament in the United States!" Rui had been the school's pride and joy as she had competed in the tournament.

"She'll be so happy to see us! Let's surprise her before you go _sleuthing_ for clues." Holding back a startled laugh, Usagi had the sudden faint image of a young girl with long, tumbling dark hair, fumbling through her English as she tried to read a book called _Nancy Drew_.

Holding a hand to her temple, Usagi tried to blink the image away as a sharp pang of emptiness echoed inside of her. Quickly as it came, it left, though a sense of hollowness lingered.

' _What is happening?'_ Nothing had been the same since she had poured her energy into Jadeite. Hopefully, she could figure out what was going on, and soon. Turning her attention back to her teasing red-headed friend, Usagi put on her most offended voice as she jogged a little ahead.

"Who the hell do you think _I_ am, Luna and her gang? Hell no! I am going to _plan_ first, _talk_ with the boys, _then_ do something about the creepy gothic style forest!"

"I am so glad you have support now. I should make them something, as a thank you for looking after you Usa-chan." Naru glomped her from behind, causing Usagi to support her weight as she received an impromptu piggyback.

"Woah there Naru. We don't even know if Mamoru wants to continue his superhero side gig." Tugging on Naru's arms, Usagi took some exaggerated breaths as her best friend huffed in annoyance into her ear, giving a giggle, Usagi continued,"It's not like he ever actually had a choice in it. What I'm hoping to get is advice, not drag them back into this mess full throttle. If they tell me to get lost, then I will and that will be that."

That's all she could ask of him because Mamoru was graduating this year. He was busy with getting his grades as high as possible to be accepted into a good university, plus he did co-op along with volunteering on the side. ' _Busy man is_ _ **busy**_ _.'_

"Hmmm, I doubt it, Usagi-chan. From what you told me they're not going to sit on the sidelines, they're too involved." Pausing again, Usagi ignored Naru's complaints of almost falling off her back; she was right. Considering Jadeite nearly jumped out the window completely naked in his determination to get to his brothers, then at the very least, _he_ would get involved.

"Well, I'll let them make that decision. Until then, we've got bigger fish to fry. Like math class." Adjusting her grip on her friend's thighs, Usagi gave a little laugh as Naru groaned dramatically.

"I don't even want to think about the next test…" Naru was an excellent student, but math was its own special type of hell.

"Let's hope there's no pop quiz today then!"

* * *

There _was_ a pop quiz today. Usagi lamented tempting fate as she waited in the hall for Naru to finish talking with Akiyama-sensei.

' _Looks like Naru is taking Home Economics' leftover fabrics again._ ' Usagi thought as Naru came out of the room carrying a nearly bursting bag full of fabrics.

"Sorry for the wait!"

"That's fine. Got a big project coming up?" Helping her with her stuff, Usagi jogged behind her as they raced down the stairs and into the school tennis courts.

"Oh no, this is for my personal designs; I'll tell you more about it later. Let's go to the courts, or else we'll miss Rui-chan's game!"

Making their way to the gate, Usagi noticed a tall man speaking with Rui as he handed her back her racket.

"Oh my god! It's him! Sanjoin-san!" Naru squeaked, turning red as she fiddled with her hair.

"...That's the hot rich guy who visited your store?" He seemed to be done speaking with Rui as he turned back to the gate; giving Usagi a glance at his face and profile.

' _I don't think I've ever seen a man with such long wavy hair before…'_ His hair was his most striking feature in Usagi's eyes. It was a rich brown that almost had red tinge to it as the sun changed it from dark brown to burgundy. His eyes were an indigo hue, seeming to change to different shades of blue depending on the lighting. Add that to his tanned skin tone and broad shoulders, Usagi could see why her friend was a bit of a mess right now.

Narrowing her eyes, Usagi hummed as she watched even Rui blush at the man as she took the racket from her hands.

' _This man is_ _ **hot**_ _...and he knows it.'_ The girls weren't exactly being subtle about their appreciation for his looks, and his cool dismissal said he was used to it.

"Hey...Rui-chan looks weird." Naru's worried voice drew Usagi's attention to the almost vacant look in Rui's eyes as she got into position, seeming to ignore the boy teasingly asking for her to go easy on him.

Usagi knew Rui was a strong player, she had to be in order to compete in tournaments abroad… Yet the way the tennis ball left a skid mark on the ground was concerning.

' _Did Rui-chan get that much better during her time in the United States? Or is something else happening.'_ Narrowing her eyes as Rui seemed to cheerfully thank the man, Sanjoin-san, Usagi wondered why he seemed vaguely familiar to her.

" _Please_ , I'm happy to help. I am quite the fan; I was cheering you on in your last tournament. You have great potential Saionji-san, I can't wait to see how much better you become." The brunette gave a charming smile that caused many of her classmates to swoon at the sight of his pearly white teeth.

Usagi could feel her metaphorical hackles rise as he sauntered away from the tennis courts and into a beautiful red sports car. Something about him just had her instincts on edge, almost literally having her hair stand on end. She couldn't take her eyes off him, as if she didn't keep an eye on him he might strike until he drove out of sight.

' _It feels like I just watched a lion decide it didn't want antelope for dinner tonight.'_

"...Something's not right with Rui-chan." Hearing Naru's worried tone, had Usagi turning around to see Rui demolishing her competitors in harsh, almost violent ways, with her style of tennis.

"She's never been this aggressive of a player before…It's like her entire style changed." Naru clutched her hands to her chest as she watched Rui smirk over her fallen competitors.

"...Is this a recent thing?" Usagi knew that they were in that age where personalities and interests could change drastically. Pangs of emptiness and pain hit her as she vaguely remembered losing friends around this age in her previous life. Friends who'd seemed to have woken up one day and decided to become a completely new person.

"I don't know...I know you wanted to go talk to the boys but… " Reaching out to pull Naru in a comforting half embrace, Usagi said nothing as her friend seemed to curl into her in worry.

Naru was her friend, her _best_ friend; of course, she would spare the time for her. Plus the boys didn't actually need her right now, whereas Naru did.

"It's fine. I'll wait here for you. They can wait for a little." Usagi knew Mamoru would understand, even if she couldn't predict Jadeite.

"Really?" Usagi could hear the smile in her voice as she felt Naru hug her back.

" _Really_."

* * *

' _This isn't like Rui at all… I wonder if her Okaa-san might know anything.'_ Staying behind hadn't done Naru a lick of good. Rui had been short and very abrupt with her, saying she had learned new techniques in the States and how she realized she had to change to get better _. 'The Americans might have a reputation for aggressiveness in sports, but Rui was…'_

It was more like Rui was out for blood, instead of wins, plus her eyes were so…. _empty_. Naru was glad that Usagi had stayed behind to wait for her; Naru hadn't managed to suppress her worried tears after Rui had dismissed her so callously. Luckily Usagi gave the best hugs and didn't mind having her shoulder soaked in her tears.

' _Just what happened to you Rui?'_

Saying goodbye to Usagi as she reached her home, Naru glanced at the clock and saw that if she hurried she would make it to the Lolita Event in the park. It started at 5 pm, but they weren't strict about being on time.

' _If I have a quick shower, then do my makeup and get dressed, I should get there by 5:30 pm.'_ Maybe this was what the doctor ordered. Just a pleasant evening with a bunch of beautiful people dressed in frills.

A few minutes later, and Naru was practically skipping out the door, so excited to be wearing her handmade, _beautiful_ lolita dress.

Her skirt was a beautiful midnight blue, with adorable cats in kimono having a tea party, decorating the bottom of the skirt. A bow in a similar colour scheme separated her blue bodice, with a sheer fringe at the top. Her headband was made of the same material as her skirt, keeping her blond wig's style in place, and her black stockings helped to make her heels pop.

' _I'm so glad Usa-chan gave me some of her hair for my wig. It's so light compared to the other ones!'_ Arriving at the place, Naru took a moment to calm herself as beautiful people mingled, had tea, and danced about in the park.

' _Oh my! I don't think I've ever seen so many at an event before.'_ Though this was only her third event, and first attending in lolita attire, the other two had been much smaller. Naru hovered on the sidelines, not quite sure what to do besides admire all the gorgeous clothing before she spotted a lady clearly heading towards _her_.

' _Her hair is so beautiful, it matches her eyes.'_ Naru was captivated by the loose flaming waves that cascaded down her shoulders, almost shimmering in the light. And the closer the lady got, the better she could see her outfit. It wasn't the classic lolita aesthetic Naru had opted for, but instead a more refined version. For some reason, Naru was picturing a lolita version of an army general when she noted the clean A-line cuts of the skirt and the ruffled cravat. The shining buttons and braiding on the jacket enhanced that image, and the skirt's pattern of rose decorated swords seemed to cement it.

' _Wow...the work on her outfit is stunning.'_ Naru clamped her jaw together, trying not to look like a gaping idiot in front of this gorgeous girl. ' _She looks to be my age too…'_

"Hello, your dress is quite exceptional." Gulping nervously, Naru cursed her out for having such a nice voice.

' _Keep it together Osaka, just say thank you. Don't be creepy.'_

"T-Thank you!" Looking over her dress, Naru couldn't help blurting out, "Y-Yours is beautiful too! I've never seen a military lolita outfit before!"

"I'm quite fond of the aesthetics myself, so after some tests, I've figured out the best outfitter is Sweet Steel. This is one of their newer designs."

"Sweet Steel?! They're top of the brand! And their designs are just ..." Naru grew weak in the knees of someday creating an outfit with one of Sweet Steel's designs.

The lady's neutral face broke into a small smile. "Exactly. It's pleasant to meet someone who understands quality when they see it, but I shouldn't have been surprised. Your outfit is easily the nicest I've seen in several meetings. May I ask where you acquired it?"

"Oh...Well, actually, I made this out of some clearance fabric and from what my home economics sensei could give me." Blushing a little as she confessed, Naru couldn't help tugging at her wig, and twirling a piece between her fingers, "Even my wig is homemade. My friend donated her hair for it and I used some scrap pieces to make the headband."

' _Hopefully, I didn't make the girl uncomfortable with my admission.'_ While Naru's Okaa-san was well off, Naru knew that her hobby was still very expensive. ' _ **Do it yourself'**_ _is the way to go when you have to count your yen on materials…'_

Instead of discomfort, the other instead focused on her outfit with a keen eye as interest was written all across her face. "Really? You made each piece entirely on your own?"

"Oh yes, I used a slip stitch for the hem so that it wouldn't be so noticeable that it is in fact three different fabrics making up the bottom part of the skirt." Naru had been so proud of herself when she had managed to finish her skirt. It was the first time she was doing it so layered.

"I used a catch stitch for the sleeves to give it a little cross aesthetic and to make the sleeves look more part of the bodice since I had to use a differently shaded blue. Things like that."

The lady listened attentively, head nodding slightly at points while bright yellow eyes flicked from one area to another. There was no judgement on her face as her smile widened, and she said: "May I take a closer look?"

"Of course!" Blushing furiously, Naru hoped she hadn't made any amateur mistakes, as she inspected her outfit with a critical eye.

Moving into her personal space, the lady bent her knees and started to inspect her skirt. Carefully, yet with the surety that said she was used to looking at quality clothing, she eyed the stitching before seeing how Naru had disguised the three fabrics as one. Her hands then moved to Naru's sleeves, pulling the fabric slightly so the crosses could be seen, before looking at how she'd given the illusion of the sleeves being attached. Finally, she carefully ran a strand of Usagi's donated hair through her hands before stepping back out of Naru's space.

Her smile brightened her face, making her much more friendly looking as she said "You're phenomenal with a needle. I've seen worse stitching from a number of respectable brands."

"T-Thank you very much!" Someone had noticed her hard work and complemented it! She couldn't wait to tell Usagi about this.

"I'm glad I decided to stay a little later than usual today. It'd have been a shame to have missed seeing you." Yellow eyes seemed to dance as her smile took a more playful bent. "If you'd like, I could escort you around the event. I'm sure with a keen eye like your dress suggests, you'll see why I've been dissatisfied lately."

"It would be my pleasure!" Could this be a new friend? Naru internally squealed as she was gently grabbed by the elbow and escorted around the park. Bless Usagi's soul, she really was her best friend, but Naru knew this wasn't her thing. She humoured Naru and played doll for her because she loved Naru, but would never have stepped foot in this park if she had her pick of things to do.

' _It'd be nice to have a friend who understands my love for all of_ _ **this**_ _.'_

As the lady escorted her about, she'd carefully murmur her observations to Naru when she wasn't introducing her to someone. "See, no one else here has the talent to design their outfits by hand. But I've known these ladies for a while, and Hinagiku-san has _no_ excuse for that pattern."

"...Their stitching is horrible. I can see where the two fabrics are joined, there are no artful ways to hide the fact that it's a mix-match of fabrics. Oh my goodness, look at that petticoat. It's so ill-fitting and unflattering for her figure." Naru could only shake her head at all of the flaws she was spotting. It made her want to offer her services to fix them.

Naru's observations earned her a warm look that spoke of how the lady respected her eyes, "Yes, and she bought all of this from Melon Rose. Evidence to my point that your needlepoint puts some brands to shame."

"Oh definitely! She could have hidden all of those imperfections with a pretty bit of embroidery." Naru could already think of a design she had learned to hide that bit of bad stitching.

As the lady turned them away from the crowd, obviously intending to talk alone, she asked lightly "Now I know I skipped over the niceties because of your lovely dress, but I am curious. Do you come to events often? I'm certain this is the first time I've seen you, as I make a point to remember people with good style."

"Oh yes, since I make these dresses by hand, and I save up to buy or find the right fabrics, it takes me a long while before another one is ready. Because of that, I don't really attend many events." It was a little embarrassing to admit, but Naru felt that this girl was trustworthy and could handle the truth.

She nodded sympathetically in understanding, but there was no mistaking the look that came over her face: calculated interest. "A question if you don't mind. How's the fit of my outfit? Could you improve it?"

"Hmmmm, yes I do believe I can. While elegantly made, I would have tucked the fabric in a bit more around your shoulders and waist. It's still a bit baggy and shows that it is a bought outfit, not made for your body specifically. The petticoat would have been redone in different material as well, since yours is supposed to poof out but instead is drooping, meaning that the company used a less sturdy material… Probably due to cost." Naru could really have fun reworking this girl's outfit. With just a few minor fixes, she would be beyond stunning.

She smiled then, widely and brightly. It did lovely things to her, but the words out of her mouth distracted Naru from that. "My name is Yonaga Hisayo, and I do believe I'd like to hire you."

"...I'm sorry?" She couldn't have said what she heard right? There's no way someone would want to hire her! She wasn't the best in her Home Economics class, nor the most creative, so how…?

"It may be a bit forward of me, however, I can see your work quality and you did just demonstrate how keen your eye is. As I have no idea when I'll see you again, it's better to seize the opportunity, no?" Her smile took on an understanding slant "Of course, we could start with a trial commission if you like. My payment would be… Say, 135,000 yen?"

Naru felt her eyes almost bug out at the offer. Coughing into her hand, she tried to get some semblance of control as her entire body seemed to betray her.

Naru could feel her eyebrow twitch as Hisayo just kept smiling like the sum she'd named was no big deal. "Of course, if you're worried about my ability to pay I can make a deposit now." She finally released the arm she had kept hold of to grab the very discrete handbag that had managed to escape notice, pulling out a wallet that looked to be made from genuine leather. "40,000 yen should be a sufficient deposit to prove my seriousness."

"Ok, you cannot just throw money around like that! Depositing with just a verbal agreement is the height of business suicide! If you're going to sponsor anyone, then a contract and a legal document for both parties should be brought up! Especially with such big numbers being thrown around like candy!" Naru could practically hear her mother tearing apart some idiot who tried to pull a fast one over her like this.

It was like her _very reasonable_ advice wasn't penetrating at all by how Hisayo's expression didn't change. "So, you would be amenable if I produce a contract for review?"

"Discussion about deadlines and flexibility of hours must happen. I have a life outside of this, and while sewing is a passion of mine I refuse to sacrifice my personal time to an unhealthy extent." Naru had seen Ami come into school, practically two sizes smaller and three shades lighter than she had been at the beginning of the first semester. Naru refused to _ever_ let anything consume her like that.

"Of course, it's not like you're an adult; working full-time isn't on the table at all. And frankly, your work would suffer if you tried to force yourself to take on a large commission without thinking of the rest of your life." Was it a trick of the light, or was her smile slightly wider? "I have a contract at home that would be suitable for an initial base, so we have something to build off of. What do you say?"

"I would need time to have it looked over by my legal representative before I sign, and I have the right to stop at any time should I feel your requests are not realistic."

"Contractual negotiations _are_ key to establishing a mutually satisfactory relationship. So I take it you are willing to consider my bid then?"

"...Yes. I am willing to consider it." Naru felt crazy for saying it, but when an opportunity knocks, why should she turn it away?

This time there was no hiding the almost predatory satisfaction on the other girl's face. "Excellent! Now, since I'm planning to head home to pick up the contract as we speak, where may I contact you?"

"...You can come to my family business. We run a jewelry store not too far from here; it's called Osa-P."

A light of recognition pierced satisfaction before it returned even more strongly. "I recognize the name, you have a sterling reputation. Is there a particular time that would suit you? If you're alright with it, I'd like to drop off the contract today. Best to get the ball rolling, yes?"

Musing on the store hours, Naru gave a little determined nod as she replied confidently, "You can drop it off during work hours. Anything after them and I can't guarantee we will be able to pick up and respond to it."

"Perfect. Now, if I remember my store times right, I likely can get the contract before you're scheduled to close today… So I think I'll need to be a little ruder and say goodbye right here."

Giving a courtesy in gratitude, Naru felt excitement at the thought of getting her first-ever commission!

"Thank you kindly for your consideration. I hope to hear from you soon."

Naru blushed as Hisayo winked at her, saying, "Of course! After all, I got lucky today." Before walking off at a _very_ brisk pace. It really did look like she was aiming to make good on her word of getting to the store before it closed. She was almost out of sight within a few minutes, she was walking so swiftly.

* * *

"I'm going to be a _what_?"

Usagi starred quietly as she watched her brother dance around the living room in glee, already making plans on what games and activities he would teach the baby once they were born. Her mother was giggling a storm as her father seemed to hype Shingo even more as they both made plans. It got to the point where the two were dancing goofily, causing Usagi to smile weakly at their antics, though she couldn't help gazing back to her mother's still flat stomach every once in a while.

' _ **Mom's**_ _...pregnant. She's_ _ **pregnant**_ _.'_

It's not like she hadn't had her suspicions. The suddenly tighter family budget, Mom being more sensitive to foods and throwing up more often, plus both of her parents working harder and extra hours to make more money…

Usagi could feel the worried looks on her parents' faces' as she continued to stay quiet.

"Usagi? Aren't you excited?" Startled out of her thoughts, Usagi gave a big grin as she waved her hands nervously.

"Hm? Oh! Yes, I am! I mean, why wouldn't I be? Hahaha..." Laughing awkwardly, Usagi hid a wince as her brother stopped to stare at her skeptically. Her mom just raised an eyebrow as she leaned back against her husband; clearly no one was fooled by her antics. Watching her mom snuggle up to her dad, curling her feet under her legs on the couch; Usagi gripped her hands tightly against her thighs as she noticed how small her mom seemed just then.

Softly sighing, she figured she should say _something_ , "I just…Mom...Are you okay?" Usagi couldn't help but worry about her now. She didn't remember her mom being so vulnerable and weak when she was pregnant with Shingo. Plus with the Negaverse still out there, trying to hunt her down…

' _Am I a liability for my family? Should they know what's going on?'_ Something must have shown on her face, because the next thing Usagi knew her father was beside her, gently pulling her to her feet, and bringing her to a group hug on the sofa with her mom and Shingo.

"Oh, honey...The baby and I are fine. I just need to go for more tests because I'm a bit older than when I had Shin-chan, that's all." Snuggling into her parents' side, Usagi ignored Shingo's light teasing on what a worrywart she was.

"If you keep worrying like that you're going to look older than grandma." Usagi pouted as Shingo poked her forehead, grinning mischievously at her expression.

"Now Shingo, your sister just cares a lot. That's all." Leaning her head against her mom's shoulder, Usagi sighed as they all just settled down for a while. Tightening her grip around her mother's waist, Usagi felt peaceful as her parents murmured to each other, while Shingo slowly dozed off on their father's side.

' _I've missed this.'_ Usagi would do anything to keep her family safe, to not have her past touch her present. ' _But is this right? Keeping them in the dark while I make dangerous enemies? Or do I risk ruining it all by telling them the truth?'_

Maybe Naru or the boys would be able to talk about it tomorrow. Usagi definitely felt like she needed feedback before doing anything.

' _I just hope that when the moment comes…'_ Slowly drifting off as her mother's heartbeat lulled her to sleep, Usagi felt herself start to lose consciousness, as her eyes grew heavier and heavier.

' _...I make the right decision.'_

* * *

Thunder rumbled in the distance as brown eyes stared at her new home. It was a tiny thing, with the smallest kitchen she had ever seen and barely any space for a living room area; not to mention the bedroom was no bigger than her bed.

' _Still...it's all mine.'_ Rolling up her sleeves, she got to work. Cleaning the tiny apartment was a sizable undertaking, but adding some plants and flowers to try and make it look homier was nice. A group of girls walked under her apartment balcony, giggling and laughing loudly as they skipped their way to school, swinging their umbrellas with such cheer.

' _How nice, to walk with friends to school and enjoy being with them.'_ Staring longingly as the group turned around the corner, she gripped her arms as the brunette tried to comfort herself. This was the furthest she had ever been forced to move to, so maybe she would manage to make some friends before anyone found out about her past history.

Looking up to the sky as she clenched her hands in hope, praying that this time, things would be different. Turning to look at the clean kitchen, she started to unpack some essentials. The brunette smiled tenderly as she placed her mother's cookbooks and her father's apron on the kitchen shelf and wall. Flipping through the pages, she wondered what she should try to cook for dinner when a photo slipped out. The lightning illuminated the room, revealing the face of her ex-boyfriend and her laughing at the camera as they shared a sundae.

Feeling a painful twist, she ruefully smiled and bit her lip to hold back tears as she carefully picked it up.

' _In the end, you were just like the others…Just another person to disappoint me. Another boyfriend unable to deal with me._ ' Conflicted, she threw the photo onto a pile of clutter. A part of her wanted to throw it away, to rip it to bits and forget he was ever a part of her life. Another...another wanted to treasure it forever. He had been her first serious boyfriend; her first kiss, her first love.

'Ugh, why can't I just move on?!" Pressing the palm of her hand against her eyes, she took deep breathes, refusing to waste even one more tear on him.

The sudden ringing of the phone broke her out of her thoughts, and she wiped away some wetness on her face. Plastering a bright smile on her face, she cheerfully answered the phone.

"Hello? Oh, Shinozaki! How are you? Yes, yes, I moved in fine. You know me, I have more cooking supplies than clothes! Yes, I start school in a few days; thank your mom for me for the lovely plants. They liven up the room perfectly!" Settling into her kitchen chair, she felt her heart lighten as her best friend worried and fussed over the phone. What would she do without him?

If only she could find other friends half as kind as him ... She'd be content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns! ☺

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [This cycle of death and rebirth (is so vexing I need to grind my teeth)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22276600) by [HybrisAnaideia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HybrisAnaideia/pseuds/HybrisAnaideia)
  * [Naru In A Floof Of Lolitas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24152203) by [Alpha_Trickster_Kat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alpha_Trickster_Kat/pseuds/Alpha_Trickster_Kat)




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